Plottr Review: Is This Writing Tool Right for You?

So you’ve decided to write a book. Whether it’s your first or fifteenth, the endeavor can sometimes feel overwhelming. That’s where a solid outline can really come in handy and help keep your writing clear and structured.

Fortunately, there are lots of helpful outlining software to choose from these days. Plottr is one of those tools, and in this post, we will be looking at it in detail to see if it will be a good fit for you. 

What Is Plottr? 

Plottr is an outlining software that is compatible with both Mac and Windows. It’s a very versatile tool that gives users options for outlining their novels, such as plot development outlines they can use to write the first draft. 

Features and Benefits of Plottr

Here are the main features and benefits of Plottr: 

1. User-friendly dashboard

Plottr’s software opens to a very straightforward, intuitive dashboard. It’s very easy to navigate with its large icons and buttons that are very self-explanatory. 

2. Pre-loaded templates

Plottr allows users to create a new project using a pre-loaded template. Below you can see the sample templates that are available to choose from. 

3. A large variety of templates

The large number of choices means you will likely find a template that matches your style and works for the genre you’re writing in.

Templates include:

  • 12 Chapter Mystery Formula 
  • 7 Point Plot Structure
  • 8 Sequences Method
  • Action Adventure Plot
  • Billy Mernit Romance Seven Beats
  • Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
  • Hero’s Journey
  • Jami Gold Romance
  • Michael Hauge Six Stage
  • Romancing the Beat
  • Shonen Battle Manga Formula
  • Snowflake Method
  • Take Off Your Pants
  • Three Story Method
  • Victor Piñeiro Screenplay
  • W Plot

4. Everything you need at a glance

The easy-to-use format lets you input story points as you go along. 

5. Add and rearrange your plot points easily

You can drag and drop your plot points to rearrange them however you want, across the main plot and any number of subplots. 

6. Easily organize stories into a series

If you’re writing several books in a series, you can use Plottr to plan and keep track of each book. 

7. Get a bird’s eye view of your book

It’s always helpful to take a step back and take a look at the bigger picture. With Plottr, you can easily switch between Timeline and Outline view. 

8. Build characters

Thanks to its easily understandable fields, you can write short or long a descriptions of your characters, or use a template to create a character profile.

9. Tools for developing your setting

Plottr’s “Places” tab lets you work on your settings. Here you can note down important information, or include real images of places in your story. 

Limitations of Plottr

Despite this wide array of features that make Plottr a very useful tool, you need to be aware of its limitations so that you can decide whether or not you want to pay for the subscription.

One of the biggest limitations we found is that it’s mainly an outlining tool and doesn’t let you write your actual story within the software.

This means you have to export your outline and write your story in a different word processor. For some writers, this isn’t a deal-breaker, but others do like to have everything in one place.

How Much Does Plottr Cost? 

Plottr offers a 30-day free trial, so you can test it out and see if you like what it offers. After the 30 days are up, you have the following package options: 

  • $25/year for Windows OR Mac, on up to 3 devices 
  • $37/year for bundled Windows and Mac, on up to 6 devices 
  • $99 for a lifetime subscription for Windows OR Mac up to 3 devices
  • $147 for a lifetime subscription for bundled Windows and Mac, and up to 6 devices

Plottr: Yay or Nay? 

Overall, Plottr is a great tool if you intend to do a lot of outlining, restructuring, character-development, and other preparatory things prior to actually writing your story. 

We recommend trying the free 30-day trial to see if you are able to maximize its benefits. If you find yourself not really using many of the features, or able to do the same things on a word processor, you may not benefit much from Plottr. You might also consider more straightforward tools like Plot Factory.

But, if you find that you’re able to brainstorm on a wider level with the tool, it may be well worth the investment! 

Outlining Your Book 

Successful writers know the importance of taking the time to outline a book. Taking this into account, you need to find a way to do that, but whether you will need an outlining software or not totally depends on you. 

Remember, no outlining software is an absolute must-have, but it depends on how you use and maximize writing tools for the greatest good of your writing! 

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

The post Plottr Review: Is This Writing Tool Right for You? appeared first on TCK Publishing.

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