Plots Unlimited: A Creative Source for Generating a Virtually Limitless Number and Variety of Story Plots and Outlines

by Tom Sawyer, Arthur David Weingarten

This is a veritable thesaurus of exciting plot twists and story moves that work for any composition of any genre.

Genres: Writing, Reference

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Tom Sawyer is a Michigan writer. Since starting out as a 17 year-old, with a weekly newspaper, he has authored the novels The Lighthouse, Fire Sale, The Sisigwad Papers and the Last Big Hit. He has also written a number of short stories that have been featured in various publications. A lifelong Waterford resident, he and his wife Colleen have three children. His latest novel is his Hammer Films-inspired vampire tale published by Black Bed Sheet Books, SHADOWS IN THE DARK, available in all ebook formats and special edition paperback at www.downwarden.com/blackbedsheetstore

Reviews

[K.P. Merriweather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very handy resource. It's an updated version of William Wallace Cook's Plotto (it takes out the racist and sexist stuff). This book isn't difficult to use. It's almost as simple as rolling dice for character generation when playing D & D.

Sometimes if I'm stuck, I use Plots Unlimited to hammer out a short story exercise. Plots unlimited doesn't have to be used for only short stories. It can be used for anything - even full length novels.

In this example, because I'm a game player, I pulled out the dice and started rolling.

My master plot consisted of thus:
A Clause (13) - a resentful person
B Clause (31) - leading a lonely unhappy life looking for companionship
C Clause (12) - salvages intergity from a difficult entanglement

This bare bones plot can go either way. The protagonist could be male or female. Their life could be just about anything and whatever morals they're trying to keep intact could also be pretty much whatever you want.

In this case, after not a lot of thought, I made it about a blood-sucking fairy immortal who works third shift at a manufacturing company assembling boxes, trying to keep their bloodlust in check by working alone on their end of the assembly line.

As I asked myself questions, I came up with why she resents living the way she does and feels unhappy she can't find someone to spend the rest of her 1,000+ years life with.

Maybe she's taken vows not to chomp on living things because humans can get scary in a mob. Maybe she brefriends the local kosher butcher down the street who knows she likes her steaks rare and wants the blood. Who knows? But this sort of thing gets the creative mind flowing and start running in any direction.

Plots Unlimited is a great tool once you get the hang of using it. It sucks to constantly flip through the pages (a program called Storyboard is quite similar) and it's up to you to fashion what you make out of what you generate.

Plotto was good enough for Alfred Hitchcock and Erle Stanley Gardner (he wrote the Perry Mason series). So you aspiring writers can benefit from Plots Unlimited as well!

Write on!

[Cindy Koch-Krol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good tool for any writer's arsenal. At first I thought that if I follow their instructions on using this book I will write too perfect formulaic plots and nothing else. But that could not happen in the least with this book. Each subplot conflict situation has multiple options as to where it goes or as to where it comes from. You can build your plot from back to front or from front to back or from the one killer scene you have imagined in the center of the book outward. It doesn't matter. If something was supposed to come before one situation you can make it come after instead. If you want to develop a side plot with a minor character, you can choose to do that. If you want to just throw in random elements that you happen across while perusing the book, go for it. I thought just now that maybe I would try writing a plot where I just pick 10 things randomly, rearrange them and see if I can build a book out of those. It's just a very creative tool to use.

I can't even remember where or when I bought this book, but now that I have put about a day into learning how to use it, I can improve my plots with a simple page flip. Try it!

[Fred Tyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

It does what it says in the title. It is a reference book, so it feels weird to say that I read it. I have used it for a few years now, though, so I feel comfortable saying it is well read. My new problem after getting the book was finishing the plots I come up with. :) It was also hard to switch from pantsing to plotting, but I feel it was worth it to not only rely on my strong points. Once I flesh out enough of the scene and characters who are in the plot they start to feel like more than just the words on paper. At first, I was stuck in a "writer's block" loop of I have the plot now what. Internally I knew I needed more description, but the sentence was right in front of me and I knew what happened. What more was there to tell? Expounding upon a single sentence can seem daunting if you've never tried it before. Especially, if you forget to have fun and play make believe with your world, your characters, and your story. I chose the plot from a list, so it felt like it wasn't mine. Otherwise, all the murder mysteries could be summed up as John killed Jane, etc. Make the plot yours. Turn it into your book about your characters in your world. Anyway, hope this sheds light on how I use this book with my writing.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent resource for writers stuck for ideas about where to take their story. The system for actually building a plot, with its numbers, letters, and asterisks is a bit confusing. Of course, many writers will likely draw inspiration simply by flipping through the pages and using the suggestions as springboards for their own ideas.

However, this book is more or less an update (really, almost a copy) of the classic Plotto, which has fallen into the public domain and is widely available as a free download. Plotto's instructions are also easier to understand, IMO. So unless one must have a print version, most aspiring writers should probably just download Plotto.

[Jerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because after all these years I still can't figure out how this works! It should probably be one, but there are some good ideas in the book.

[Dionna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Handy reference book if you get stuck planning or writing fiction.