Plotra DocsWho it is for
Non-fiction and research
For non-fiction and research writers: keep sources beside the text, cite in APA, MLA or Chicago, clip web pages, attach files, fact-check claims and export with a reference list.
If your writing rests on facts, Plotra keeps each one next to where it came from. A source is a note in the project, with the details of the work in its properties and your summary on its page. You cite it from any chapter by typing [@, in APA, MLA or Chicago. Web pages can be clipped into sources, files attached to them, and any paragraph marked as a claim to verify. Exports add the reference list for you.
Start writing for freeEvery feature is on the Free plan. No card needed.
Set up
- Start the project. On the workspace's projects page, press New project, give it a title and choose Non-fiction / research under "Other kinds". This makes a blank project with one empty scene. The cold open works too, but its first questions are about a story's character and place; skip the ones that don't apply.
- Check the module. A non-fiction project starts with Research & sources on. The rest of the type's tool set is under More → More tools: Review & editorial for approval stages, and Publishing for an EPUB.
- Pick the citation style. Open Sources from More in the ribbon and choose APA, MLA or Chicago under Style. APA is the default. The style belongs to the project and can be changed at any time without rewriting anything.
- Rename the kinds, if you like. Under Project settings → Words a "Scene" can become a "Section". See Words.
An existing draft comes in with New… → Import… as Markdown, Word or plain text. Citations in an imported file arrive as plain text.
Typical workflow
- Collect sources. In the Sources view, press New source for a book or a paper, or Clip a web page and paste an address. A clip saves the page's readable text and fills in the title, authors, date and address the page declares. See Clipping a web page.
- Complete the details. Each source has a type (Book, Article, Chapter, Website, Report, Interview, Film or Other) and the fields a reference needs. The list warns "Missing authors, year" until they are filled in. See The fields.
- Attach the files. Drop the PDF of a paper or a scan onto a source's Files section. Everyone in the project can open it.
- Take notes on the source's page. A source is a research note, so it has a body for your summary and can be linked, tagged and searched like any other note.
- Write, and cite as you go. Type
[@, then a few letters of the author, the title or the year, and press↵. Add "p. 44" in the box that opens. The citation follows its source: correct the year on the source and every citation of it changes. See Citing a source. - Mark the claims. Put the cursor in a paragraph, press
⌘⌥Tand set Fact-check to Unverified, Verified or Disputed, with the source it rests on. See Fact-check status per claim. - Work through the Claims tab. It lists every claim in the project, unverified first, with buttons to change the status. Clear it before the text goes out.
- Have it read. Share the project by email. A commenter can comment on any passage; an editor can use suggesting mode, which marks every change until you accept or reject it. See Working together.
- Export. Word (.docx) is in standard manuscript format with the reference list at the end. Bibliography in the Sources view downloads the whole list as Markdown, plain text or BibTeX.
Who does what
| Person | Role to give | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A co-author | Workspace member, or Editor on the project | Writes, cites, adds sources |
| A fact-checker who sets claim statuses | Editor | Changing a claim's status changes the note it is in, which needs edit access |
| A reader who only queries the text | Commenter | Comments, and can open every attached file |
| A required reviewer in an approval stage | Workspace member | Review rules can only name members of the workspace |
What to read next
| For | Read |
|---|---|
| The Sources view: search, sort, "Cited in" | The Sources view |
| How authors, dates and organisations are entered | Adding a source |
| The three styles and how names are shortened | Citation styles |
| The downloadable bibliography | The bibliography |
| File types, sizes and who can open a file | Attachments and files |
| What each export does with a citation | How citations export |
| The Word manuscript, Markdown and plain text | Export |
| Approval stages and locked chapters | Review and editorial |
| An e-book with the references as its last chapter | EPUB |
| Chapter and project word targets | Writing goals |
| An outline of every chapter with its status | Outline |
Things to know
- Sources are added by hand or by clipping. None of the ways to add a source reads a BibTeX file or a reference manager's library. BibTeX is a download.
- There is no browser extension. Clipping is done from the dialog, on pages of the public web. A page behind a sign-in can't be clipped, and a page that builds its text in the browser may come out empty. You can clip 60 pages an hour.
- A clip is plain text. Images, tables, links and formatting in the page are not kept, and a clip holds about 120,000 characters.
- There is no bibliography block to place in a note. The reference list is added on export, and holds only the sources cited in what you exported.
- Chicago is the author-date form, 17th edition. APA is the 7th and MLA the 9th.
- Same author, same year. In an export, two such works carry their letter (2019a, 2019b) in the reference list but not in the citation in the text. Check these by hand.
- A claim is a whole block, a paragraph or a list item, not a few words. Its source is not a citation and does not print.
- Fact-check tags stay inside Plotra. Exports print the text and leave the tags out.
- Uploaded files stay inside Plotra too. An image uploaded into a note has no address outside Plotra, so exports, the EPUB and the series bible leave it out.
- File sizes on the hosted version. One uploaded file can be 4 MB, a source can hold 100 files, and a Free workspace has 50 MB of storage for files and versions together. See Limits.
- A citation does not survive a round trip. Exported and imported again, it is plain text.
- The AI agent treats every research note as outside material: it reads the text as information and does not follow instructions written in it.
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