Plottr Reviews

My experience using PLOTTR and attending their webinars has been extremely positive. I consider PLOTTR to be one of my critical writing tools.

I'm a visual plotter. Before I start writing, I like to see my entire plot laid out before me, including the various subplot-lines and scenes, with different colors representing different POVs. I used to plot using sticky notes on butcher paper - which was cumbersome but it was worked for me - until I discovered PLOTTR. This app gives me my digital butcher paper and sticky note tools. If this was all the software did, it would still be the best plotting tool out there, but PLOTTR offers more. PLOTTR provides over 30 preset plotting templates that you can use to guide your plotting. PLOTTR also offers the ability to create your own customized starting template. You can plot individual books or book series. And once you've mapped out your entire book, you can export it to Scrivener where your chapter and scene structure are preserved, making it very easy to start writing. And, as if that weren't enough, PLOTTR hosts writing related webinars that are free and, IMO, very informative.

There is nothing about this application that I dislike.

I was a bit overwhelmed at first by eventually was able to incorporate Plottr into my daily routine both for personal writing and when working as a ghost writer. I strongly advise people to take advantage of the free trial and figure out how they can best use the plotting tool to improve their story creating process.

It is a comprehensive plotting tool that enables me to concentrate on the dozens of interlocking elements that go into developing stories ranging from simple one page flash fiction to expansive series covering a dozen books or more. It has enabled me to quickly pen out request by my clients and see where their vision for my ghost writing projects needs assistance in order to result in a marketable final product.

The developers were correct about needing to dive into the tool in order to understand its power. I wish it was a bit simpler, but considering the feature set and how so many of the commonly used features become muscle memory after a bit I could understand the logic behind is approach in developing user familiarity with the tool.

My overall experience with Plottr has been highly positive, as the software offers an array of useful features that greatly enhance the storytelling process. The timeline feature, in particular, has been a standout aspect for me. Being able to seamlessly add character notes, biographies, and track various story elements within the timeline has proven invaluable in keeping my narrative organized and cohesive.

I like the timeline feature. I love the way I can add character notes and biographies, create items or places and track them in the timeline. I like the templates so we can build up a story from a Save The Cat or Snowflake Method template.

I would love it to integrate with ChatGPT quality writing AI. I wish we could divide the story into acts as well as chapters. I understand that is coming.

If you’re a plotter, this platform is for you. If you’re a pantser, this platform is also for you. I really think it offers something for everyone.

I absolutely love the Plottr platform. It has everything that I need to keep all of the details of a standalone novel or a series in one place. It’s not overwhelming with a lot of graphics and work sheets. It’s to the point and you can make it as complex for minimal as you want to. I’ve always largely been a pantser, but to be honest with you, the key for me to getting anything done is having a decent roadmap from beginning to end. This platform speaks to that part of me that doesn’t want to be working on an eternal outline, I just want to nail down my major plot points, and then go. And it’s great to have a place to park everything along the way to keep track of it. Love it and recommend it to all my MFA alumni family.

I really don’t have anything negative to say about the platform. I really love it and it’s been my saving grace when trying to get back into my book after taking a hiatus due to grief.

Overall, Plottr is the best software I’ve bought to date. It’s actually helpful. It’s easy to use and does everything it promises to do.

My absolutely favorite thing about Plottr is the timeline. As a dedicated pantser, I find the timeline really helpful in my outlining process. The fact that I can customize the box colors is a bonus. I also really love that the series view where I can list all books on one place.

One thing I’ve not been able to figure out is the character sheets. I’d like to be able to specify which characters are in which book or if they’re the main character or side characters.

Plottr is a powerful tool that has helped me organize my novels in an easy-to-use digital interface. Sure, note cards on a table or vision boards work for some, but as a techie, it's a dream to have all my novel's information in one location.

Plottr's interface is user-friendly and its features make it a top-class product. While the project templates are already robust for planning any kind of writing, these templates are also completely customizable. I'm also a huge fan of the "characters" and "places" features, which have helped me immensely with characterization and setting in my work.

Plottr so far has fulfilled my needs as a writer. My only complaint is that I wish I could use it to draft my work too. It's compatibility with Scrivener, for instance, is sufficient but could be improved upon.

Provides an elevated HCI plotting experience that banishes writers block for authors who enjoy concentrating creativity to the plotting stage and offers a comprehensive 'world hub' to keep the details together for authors who prefer to follow the muse along the way and organize after the writing task.

Visual layout.
Customizable plotting components.
Syncs well across devices.
Great support.
Sharing and educational community.
Founders invested and involved in literary scene.
Usable for organizing any type of creative projects:
Currently using for --- screenplay projects, fiction, and YouTube video story management.

Updates cause hiccups sometimes on the Windows computer.

I could go on and on about the advantages of using Plottr. As a pantser, I don't actually plot my books, but I keep track of each chapter on the timeline. If I need to go back and fix something in my manuscript for any reason, I have everything right in front of me. I show the POV changes by changing the color of the boxes in the plotline. I love Plottr!

I use Plottr to organize each book in a series. I set up each project, the timelines, and character profiles either before I start or as I go along. I download pictures of the houses or businesses I need to keep track of, secondary characters I need descriptions of, and timelines for medical school, etc.. The Notes section is where I keep track of the names of book club members who might be mentioned in another book, backstories, stages of planning a high school reunion, and the odd townsfolk who might also be used in another book. You can even add links to anything you want to use.

There is a learning curve for some things, but plenty of tutorials are available and so is help from Plottr customer service.

There are so many things I want to say… This may be long so buckle down! I have found Plottr is perfect for me, even though I wish I could use it on other platforms.

I have found I prefer the PC application more(form and function). The devs focus on this and it clearly shows. It works better and is not buggy. The attention and features that have been added over time make sense and don’t impede use flexibility to the end user. Computer Resource Usage is low. When my computer cries, it’s from my internet tabs…

Updates are not forced, you can easily tell what they entail with the straightforward videos that are posted to YouTube. Updating is fast, has never bricked the program or lost any of my data. (I make backups anyway… Prior programs have taught me to be paranoid as you will soon learn!)

I have found that even though I miss the IPad’s flexibility in work location it is the only thing I miss. PC works better for workflow in every way, every time. They are right to focus on it.

I don’t know if Plottr would work if installed on a portable ARM PC like a Microsoft Surface X; But if it did (and if a Surface worked as well as an iPad), I would buy one immediately and it would become my Primary Portable Plottr PC.

I am paranoid about big companies and China mining and stealing my baby from the cloud. I spend a lot of time and mental energy researching, rearranging, and refining my work. Connection to the cloud is convenient, but easily lost/manipulated/stolen, therefore I don’t use it. Therefore, I greatly appreciate local storage in this day and age to keep creative control over my work until it is ready. I write as a serious hobby and seek to grow with my work.

It is easy to make backups(duplicates) and place them anywhere. This works quickly and effortlessly, negating any remaining need for cloud.

Exporting to word is a godsend for assuaging the paranoia in me, as I have seen apps rise and fall with proprietary file types that nothing can open. That said, It would be nice to have more Word-like abilities and weird fonts when writing descriptions. Keyboard shortcuts never hurt either. I prefer using Plottr over Word because I can keep things in context with the timelines/books.

I think I’m done…

No I’m not: I don’t often feel reviews are worth my time as I agonize over what to say/include. I apologize for the length of this review as I am inexperienced writing reviews. Plottr earned my good review. 10/10 Would agonize again.

Now I’m done!

> Straightforward, yet flexible visual interface.
> Lifetime buy/access available
> Local Storage
> Sensible and flexible export options
> Templates available, yet not in the way. They are explained well and include context.
> Updates make sense and are not forced upon you.

iPad app is the most convenient interface, but most buggy… Though I have found I now prefer how interacting/integrating with Plottr with the PC app. I will note my findings below for Devs if they decide they want to keep the iPad app.

— Dragging/rearranging items on (IPad) timeline causes the thing to disappear, showing up on the timeline of a preceding book and losing data.

— Logging in (IPad) sometimes buggy but can be fixed by logging into the website first then opening the app.

—Storing file from PC in OneDrive and opening it on iPad causes issues Ipad side. Certain features are not implemented on iPad so the data appears lost until you reopen on PC. Nothing is lost you just can’t see it.

— Program will sometimes “forget” that you have formatted words a certain way (italics, bolds, etc…) Makes it difficult to distinguish regular dialogue from an eldritch’s abominable utterances

— Reviews on the iPad app are quite cruel and unfair. They are definitely not helpful, but I understand the frustration. Trying to pigeon-hole an app this powerful/flexible into the Mac ecosystem would be an exercise in futility, killing the things that make it great.

There are limitations but the benefits make up for it. The look is great. The features are great though I hope some are added.

It does everything I used to do on an Excel spreadsheet but so much better and a lot less work. Plus, it's easier to view my outline than it was with Excel.

It was more confusing to set up a series than I expected. I watched the videos and still found it confusing.

I love this software! I am in love with their customer support. Emails are answered within 3 days or less. Most problems get solved quickly. Suggestions for new features are easy to submit and discussion is open. I have never had an experience like this in any software I've ever used. I feel like the developers listen to me and my ideas are important to them.
The software is very easy to learn and use. I was up and running within an hour or two. I love how creative I can be with customization. I use Plottr for projects other than writing as well, when I need to lay out a series of steps. It's really fun for me to use!

I love being about to put details about my characters with pictures! Love being able to tag everything with my custom tags and emotes to represent my categories. Forms for Snowflake Method and other structuring forms help me with whatever level of detail I need for each character. I actually bought Plottr because of Randy Ingersenman's endorsement because I am a fan of the Snowflake Method. The outline can be as detailed as I need and the new Acts feature is awesome! Easy to move my chapters and scenes into the act needed. The Settings let me lay out all my places. I love the color coding, the forms provided and the ability to make and share my own! And, I can print it to .docx format and have a ready document to refer to for each project. Versatile and useful! I highly recommend this software! And, there is usually a nice discount for those of us who participate in National Novel Writing Month!

I wish I could save my custom tags across projects without having to delete stuff. That's really the only thing I don't like, but it's easy to save an existing project under a new name, so not much hassle to do.

I definitely recommend Plotter 100%. I began with the trial version but soon changed to an annual account.

Plotter is an easy but powerful tool. I love to use it to make my novels' plots and follow the scenes sequence. It is straightforward to use and has a lot of helpful tutorials, which I use to learn not only about the use of the tool but also ways to improve my writing craft.

I found it too hard to print my plots. There is a screenshot option, but it doesn't correct the situation. I can print using the Word option, but that changes the look with squares and changes it to simple text.

I had already filled two notebooks with ideas but I didn't know how to start to write my story until I heard about Plottr and installed it. Being able organise the plot points in different timelines fueled my creativity and I finally got started.

-The easiness to move the cards to different places in the same timeline but also to other timelines.
-The possibility of zooming in and out of the story's plotline in order to see the whole thing in a glance or have a detailed video of the content in that plot point.
- The availability of plot structures to get inspiration from.

If I could have been able to draft my novel in Plottr, I would have done so.

Using this side by side (or on a 2nd monitor) along with my writing software enables my workflow to run smoothly. Before I would have to stop writing and make a few clicks to check an item a particular character was carrying, how frequently they were involved in subsequent chapters, or what location I had them - now I only have to glance at Plottr and get the answer. Writers can get distracted very easily, Plotter helps my focus stay on task.

I love the fact I can pull up the Timeline or Outline and immediately check the flow of my story. I also love the ability to create character outlines that I can import into Scrivener. I am a major fan of using Characters, Places, and Tags within my outline to double-check the elements of each chapter.

I have only been using the software for a few weeks and as of yet, have not found any cons.

I succeeded planning and plotting my 4 books saga quicker than I ever imagined, it's easy to use, I can't wait to go deeper in the writing of my saga to work with Plottr on all the next steps !

Easy of use, tons of tutorials and materials, huge community to help the new user, team quick to answer to our problems, software is always looking for ways to improve the experience and add new options, and it's available in French too!

Some things don't work completely yet (my iPad version is difficult to work with, I can't swipe the timelines from side to side which prevents me from using the iPad version. I prefer to use the web version on my iPad).

Some features are missing but I'm sure that it will be addressed sooner or later.

I did some tutorials and played with a temp outline to get a feel for the tool. Then I watched a bunch of Youtube videos by authors, and they all used Plottr differently. How many timelines? What should you put on the timelines? How detailed should you make it?
It took a while for me to decide, but once I had a plan and got to work, it went smoothly.

I had a finished manuscript, but I knew it moved too slowly in the middle. At the same time, I wasn't sure how to fix it. A friend recommended outlining it in Plottr, which really helped. I could see which scenes needed to be cut, and I also found several plot holes that needed fixing. The slow middle? Plottr showed that my main character was 'off stage' for three chapters!

Significant learning curve and the possibility of getting stuck deciding between many possible approaches to structuring your outline. I understood the mechanics of using Plottr in a couple of hours, but it took me a month to decide on a character-centered approach to outlining.

As a pantser, plotting is my worst nightmare. It sucks the joy out of discovery writing for me, but Plottr has changed that. I'm able to visually plot the journey of my novel with the flexibility of adding only the level of detail that I want so I can still 'discover' the story as I write, but I have a structure to work towards. A guideline I can follow while I pants, with the added comfort of knowing that I can go back in and shift the guideline and make it malleable to the ideas that emerge in the actual writing process. I'm still a new-ish user but I see myself really using this software.

Ease of use.
Visual layout.
Ability to expand scene cards to include attributes, themes, places, and characters across the whole project.
Fluidity with being able to move and shift POVs, scenes, and characters along the timeline.
Flexibility of viewing the project in various ways.
Ease of labelling aspects with the project to suit individual needs, eg, scenes chapters or parts, or all of the above.

This isn't a con per se, but I'd love to see a feature where you can print the visuals out as a PDF.
After the initial download I might have included a few cons but as I've used the software, it's started to feel more intuitive. With any software, there's a learning curve, which isn't a con as much as it is patience to learn. I've found the various videos, instructive documents, community help, and webinars on the use of Plottr very helpful.

This software offers a lot of value for its very reasonable price. The company is super responsive to questions or issues that you might have. They are constantly improving and adding new features that users request. It comes loaded with templates that help you structure and remind you of what should or might need to happen at a certain point in one's story.

I began with Plottr with an annual license. But seeing the value in what it can do and the changes being made to it, I decided to purchase the lifetime license. When you have a particular way of working that you've used for a very long time it is often hard to pivot. Plottr has made it easy. With its templates for all sort of development with character and plot, it makes mapping out your story very easy. While it is focused for novelists, I use it for screenwriting. But its new tools of bullet points, indents numbering gives it a much more familiar feel to say MS Word toolset. This addition really helps organization of thoughts to plotting. Exporting is super easy as well.

I'd like to see a few more templates that focus on screenwriting. There could also be more outlining tools to better help with organizing one's thoughts. In the Character Bio Template, there should be Married or Widowed and possibly country of origin. I personally would like to be able to have Characters open at the same time as Outline. That would be super helpful so I don't have to jump back and forth.

Plottr made it super easy for me to outline a SIX PERSON POV novel. Because of Plottr I was also able to write my synopsis before I even began drafting, which I've never been able to do before. It just makes the whole process so much easier.

I've now outlined multiple other projects in Plottr since, and they've all gone super smoothly.

I love how easy Plottr makes it to organize your timeline, outline, character info, etc.--and how easy it is to export it to Word, Scrivener, etc.

The templates are also incredibly useful!!

Honestly I have yet to encounter one; I love everything about the software.

I've been spinning my wheels for a while, trying to finish my work in progress. The cast of characters has grown, the themes and concepts have expanded greatly, and it's just become a mess to keep track of everything. Plottr quickly proved useful in organizing all that. Being able to take a visual inventory of POV changes, scene breakdowns, and a bigger picture series overview has allowed me to take a huge step forward in my writing.

First and foremost is flexibility. I consider myself an intuitive plotter. My mind has never played well with rigid structure systems. So I wasn't sure Plottr would even be of any use to me when I installed the trial version. But it's been very simple to adjust the functionality of the timelines, character library, and series overview features in a way that feels natural to my thought process.

I also think it looks nice. It has a minimalist aesthetic, while still not feeling cold and robotic.

Being a newer user, I haven't had time to dig into any major (to me) shortcomings. I would like it if the cards in the Character section were collapsable by their tags, though.

I have a lot of characters in my WIP. I created six categories to sort them. It works fine, but I do find myself having to scroll a bit, as my supporting and minor character cast grows and grows. If those could be collapsed into a stack eventually, it'd be a welcome ease of use feature.