Plotto

Plotto: Creative Writing Tool

A 1928 software originally by William Wallace Cook, Plotto offers a database of plot situations and characters for writers to combine randomly and brainstorm story ideas.

What is Plotto?

Plotto is a unique software tool for writers developed in the 1920s by author William Wallace Cook. It is essentially a database of plot situations, character types, and other story elements that writers can mix and match randomly to brainstorm new story ideas.

Here's how it works: The full Plotto database contains over 4000 plot situations categorized by plot type, as well as over 2000 character types. Writers can select plot elements randomly from this database to combine them in new and unexpected ways. This sparks new ideas and helps writers get unstuck.

For example, you could select the plot element 'a man threatens suicide' and combine it with the character element 'a female journalist.' This unlikely combination may give you an idea for a new story. The randomness often leads to unusual and creative outcomes.

In summary, Plotto is one of the earliest idea-generative tools for writers. By providing a vast database of story elements which writers can combine randomly, it facilitates creative thinking and overcoming writer's block. Modern software idea generators still employ similar principles today.

Plotto Features

Official Links