Pluot is a story outlining tool where you can create scenes, characters, locations and storylines. There is no wrong way to use Pluot, but I hope to describe what I had in mind when I designed the app.

The main goal is to outline a story, which consists of a series of scenes. Before you can create your scenes though, you need to create the characters, locations and storylines which populate them. There's a tab for each of these (and a tab for general notes), and once you've created them, you can construct scenes by linking the elements that appear in them and completing the different prompts. 

Scenes

When creating a scene, you can link the characters which appear in it, the location(s) it takes place, and the parent storyline(s). When viewing the list of all your scenes, the color of each scene’s respective storyline (if applicable) is displayed next to the scene number. 

Conflict: What obstacle is preventing your characters from achieving their goal? It could be anything from a physical or verbal altercation, to a fallen tree blocking the road, to a fear of heights. 

Outcome: Did they overcome the obstacle? What has changed in your story since the start of the scene?

Characters

Character represents the core of your story and there are over 70 prompts available to outline interesting and complex characters. While viewing a character, you can tap “Appears in x scenes” to view all the scenes the particular character appears in.

Personal (inner) goal: What does your character want to change or improve about themselves? Is there internal conflict, a character flaw or something they’re trying to psychologically overcome? Perhaps they’re overcoming the loss of a loved one or simply trying to swear less.

Private goal: What does your character personally want for themselves? It could be anything from pursuing a romantic interest to finding a rare copy of their favorite book. This is where your character could be greedy, and while it might not be the primary focus of your story, could influence your character’s motivations and decision making.

Professional goal: Refers to what your character actually needs to get done in the story, and your story’s plot often revolves around whatever your protagonist’s professional goal is, such as defeating the bad guys, finding a hidden treasure or winning an election.

Outcome: Does your character succeed in their goals? Do they live to see the end of the story? What is their legacy?

Note: The goals can be interpreted in many ways depending upon your story and whatever works best for you. There can be a fine line between personal and private goals, and if you don’t need one of those fields (or any other character field) you can hide them in Settings.

Locations

Your scenes have to take place somewhere, and often the location is as much a character as the characters themselves. Are we in a graveyard? A plane? Underwater? While viewing a location, you can tap “Appears in x scenes” to view all the scenes the particular location appears in.

Storylines

Your outline can have as many storylines/plotlines as you like. For example, your primary storyline could be about trying to disarm a bomb, but there could also be a romantic subplot you’d like to outline. It all depends on the story and world you’re creating. While viewing a storyline, you can tap “Appears in x scenes” to view all the scenes the particular storyline appears in.