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The beat is the atom
One thing that happens: “Danglars writes the denunciation.” Beats carry their synopsis, characters, place, storylines and length. Scenes, chapters and acts are built around them.
Build the structure of your story, one beat at a time.
PlotFable is a Mac app for novelists and screenwriters. Lay out your plot on a whiteboard, see it on a timeline, chart how it feels, check that every setup pays off — all from the same story.
For macOS 15 or later · No account needed
The idea
A story is a sequence of beats. Everything else is a way of looking at it.
Most writing tools organise chapters. PlotFable organises what happens — and lets you see it from five sides without ever copying it twice.
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One story, five views
Move a beat on the whiteboard and it moves on the timeline, in the emotion chart and in the table. There is only one order, and every view follows it.
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Cause, not just chronology
Link a setup to its payoff. If you ever reorder them the wrong way, PlotFable flags a plot error — and it warns you about the promises you haven't kept yet.
Five views
See your story the way you need to, right now.
Switch with ⌘1 to ⌘5. Every view edits the same story.
Whiteboard ⌘1
Your plot as cards on lanes — the main plot, the B story, each character's thread. Drag beats around, group them into scenes, and slide act and chapter breaks wherever they belong.
- Zoom out for the shape of the whole story, in for every synopsis
- ⌥-drag from a setup to its payoff to link them
- Lane names stay in view as you scroll
Timeline ⌘2
The whole story on one screen: acts, chapters, scenes, beats, and a track for every lane, place, character and storyline. See at a glance who disappears for too long — and where.
- Equal columns, or each beat as long as its pages
- Compare your plot points with a structure template
- Plot errors and loose ends right under the beats
Emotions ⌘3
Track how a storyline feels over time — trust, danger, hope, love. Drag the curve to shape it; PlotFable works out where the tension spikes and paints a heatmap of the whole story.
- Seven kinds of automatic tension, or set it by hand
- A heatmap that shows the story's quiet and loud stretches
Table ⌘4
Every beat and every character as a row you can sort, filter and edit in place. Find the beats without a place, the characters who barely appear, the plot points you haven't set.
- Edit titles, synopses, plot points and lengths in the grid
- Export to a spreadsheet, or print as pages
Relationships ⌘5
Family, love, friendship, mentors and enemies, drawn as a map of your cast. Add ties in each character's sheet; PlotFable arranges the families for you, or place everyone by hand.
- Character sheets with portraits, wants, needs, flaws and arcs
- Colours for each kind of tie, arrows for parents and mentors
Structures
Start from a proven shape — or from nothing at all.
Eight story structures, each with its acts, its stages and a short note on what belongs in each. Start a new story from one, or keep it alongside as a yardstick on the timeline.
Three Acts
General fiction · Drama · Classic comedy · Commercial filmSave the Cat
Thrillers · Action · Mainstream SF · Romantic comedyThe Writer's Journey
Epic fantasy · Adventure · Space opera · Coming-of-ageSix-Stage Plot Structure
Biopic · Character drama · Romance · Psychological thrillerStory Circle
Sitcoms · TV episodes · Episodic adventures · Short fictionSeven-Point Structure
Thrillers · Crime & mystery · Horror · SF & fantasy seriesFreytag's Pyramid
Classical tragedy · Stage drama · Literary fictionKishōtenketsu
Slice of life · Quiet horror · Manga & 4-koma
Every stage becomes a beat.
Choose a structure and PlotFable lays out its acts and one beat per stage, with a note on what belongs there and lengths in proportion. Rename them, move them, delete what your story doesn't need — the structure is a scaffold, not a cage.
Each structure says which genres it suits best, so you can pick one with your story in mind.
Story devices
Every promise your story makes, kept.
A link between two beats can be more than cause and effect. Tell PlotFable what kind it is, and it draws it — and warns you about the gun that never fires.
Setup → Payoff
Chekhov's gun: what you show must be used. Order them wrongly and it's a plot error.
Foreshadowing
A quiet hint at what's coming, so the turn feels inevitable when it arrives.
Clue → Reveal
The clues behind a twist. A twist with no clue before it gets flagged as unprepared.
Red Herring
A false lead, and the moment it's shown to be false — PlotFable reminds you to clear it up.
Dramatic Irony
The audience learns it here; the character only there. The gap between them is tension.
Callback
An echo of an earlier moment — a line, an image — that gives the ending its weight.
For novelists and screenwriters
Plan here. Write anywhere.
PlotFable is for the shape of the story, not its prose. When the plan is ready, take it to the tool you write in.
FountainMarkdownPDF outlineCSV spreadsheetPDF & PNG of any viewPrint
Characters and places
Sheets with portraits and pictures, roles, wants and needs, flaws and arcs — and every beat they appear in.
Ideas in the library
Park beats you're not sure about outside the story. They wait there until you bring them back.
Three stories to explore
Open a complete example — from Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo to an original heist — and see every feature in use.
Private by design
Your story stays yours.
An unfinished plot is the most private thing a writer has. PlotFable never sees it.
No account
Open the app and write. There is nothing to sign up for.
No servers
Stories live in ordinary files on your Mac, wherever you keep them — iCloud Drive included.
No tracking
The app collects no data and sends nothing anywhere. Privacy policy
PlotFable for Mac
Coming soon to the Mac App Store. Requires macOS 15 or later.
FAQ
Questions
Is PlotFable a word processor?
No. PlotFable is for the structure — beats, scenes, acts, storylines, characters and how they connect. Write the prose in the tool you love, and export your outline to Fountain, Markdown or PDF to take it with you.
Is it for novels or for screenplays?
Both. Beats, lanes and breaks work for chapters as well as sequences; lengths can be pages or minutes; and the outline exports to Fountain for screenwriting apps.
Do I have to use a structure template?
Not at all. Start with a blank story and add a structure later, only to compare against — or never.
Where are my stories saved?
In .plotfable files, on your Mac, wherever you choose. Put them in iCloud Drive or Dropbox if you want them on another Mac. PlotFable has no servers.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac with macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Is there a guide?
A step-by-step guide is on its way — here on the website and inside the app, from the Help menu.