In last month’s blog, I looked at Scrivener, the primary tool I use for writing and publishing. This month I want to look at another tool, which is relatively new– Plottr.

Plottr, is essentially a time line planning tool. It allows you to quickly map out a story’s timeline with scene cards. It also allows you to see the same timeline through an outline format.

So why would you need Plottr? I asked myself the same question. I’ve got Scrivener, which can switch between cork board, outline, and text modes. And I already have Plot Control, a sophisticated screenwriting tool, which does the same thing over a 3-Act Structure. So why do I need Plottr? Well, the answer is I saw a demonstration and was immediately hooked.  What impressed me was how easy it was to create scenes and plot lines, insert new scenes and chapters, and move them around with drag and drop. And scrolling along the time lines is so easy. There is also a vertical format, if you prefer, with a simple click.

You can create as many plot lines as you like. In my current novel, I am using three lines: The Main Plot Line, The Internal Plot Line, and The Antagonists Plot Line, so I can see how each develops over the course of the story. But you can have as many as you like. If you prefer you could have a plot line for each main character. Or you can see different units to mark out the time line other than chapters. For example, Acts or sequences. It’s up to you how you want to work.

And it also has sections for Notes, Characters and Places to identify with the scenes, with standard templates if you want to use them. As you can see from the screenshot. I don’t map out a lot of detail for the characters. In my current project I already know my characters well and have written a considerable amount of the text. So I’ve been using Plottr primarily as a tool to analyse the different plot lines and scene structure. It’s been helpful.

Overall, Plottr is clever tool for doing what ifs in story development and exploring different ideas before committing further effort to writing. And it has the ability to export a .docx file, which means you can  can import into Scrivener the chapter and scene structure. As an initial planning tool it gets my vote.