{"id":2750,"date":"2022-01-14T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novlr.org\/?p=2750"},"modified":"2025-06-04T16:20:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:20:52","slug":"the-best-plotting-tools-for-writers-and-novels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/the-best-plotting-tools-for-writers-and-novels\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Plotting Tools for Writers and Novels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Outlining a novel can be the hardest part of any writing journey, so having the right tool for the job is absolutely essential. The more complex a story gets, the more insurmountable creating a viable outline can seem. Plotting<\/a> tools are a commonly requested feature and are on our roadmap for the future, but in the meantime, we want you covered. We\u2019ve road-tested some of the most well-known plotting tools on the market to help you find the right option for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beemgee<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pricing: Free with limits & Premium at \u20ac96 per year<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Beemgee\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Beemgee<\/a> is a clean, easy to use plot builder that works like a corkboard with drag-and-drop capabilities. It has a strong emphasis on character development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other plotting tools, character is at the forefront of Beemgee. This is a unique and surprisingly uncommon way to tackle plot structure. It means that when you think of your plot you\u2019re forced into making it character, rather than story-driven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a character development tool that takes you through a series of questions to determine their needs, goals, and attributes, it\u2019s easy to build characters with rich internal lives. As you develop each character, you can compare their individual attributes to make sure there\u2019s enough depth and contrast to the protagonists and villains of your story. This helps to build relationships and create conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the plot developer is visually pleasing and easy to use, it is limited in scope. You can create scenes, but won’t get the same level of guidance and prompting that the character builder gives. If you already have a good idea of where you want your story to go, this won\u2019t be a hindrance. It does, however, rely on a plot idea ready to go from the outset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plotting tool allows for colour coding, re-ordering of scenes, and lets you toggle between narrative or chronology views. This is great for writers looking to play with scene orders a bit more. Beemgee offers timeline and corkboard views which is a great feature. Writers have different preferences on how they view their plots, so the choice is always good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where Beemgee really shines, however, is in the robust additions you can make to your scene cards. You can tag each scene with attributes like which character will appear, which point of view the scene is told from, locations, plot beats, and structural markers. Each of these tags is filterable and in-depth enough that you can create an incredibly detailed plot in relatively little time. If you write detailed descriptions for each scene card as well, these can be easily exported to create a plot summary that you can use for pitching or querying right off the bat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Beemgee does offer a free version, it\u2019s limited in what additional attributes you can assign to your plot and characters. For a freemium model, this isn\u2019t unexpected, but the free version doesn\u2019t allow export. To export any work you create under their free version, you’ll need to subscribe to their annual plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, Beemgee is a robust plotting tool that emphasises character development before all else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n