Plotra DocsProject types
The eleven project types: what each is for, the modules it starts with, the format of its scenes, what its releases are called and the ribbon it opens with.
A project's type is a preset. It picks the modules that start switched on, the format a new scene is written in, and what a release is called. It locks nothing: every module can be switched on in any type, and the type itself can be changed later under Project settings.
You choose the type when you create the project, in the new project dialog or under "What are you making?" in the cold open.
The types at a glance
| Type | For | Starts with | New scenes | A release is a | Beta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Novel / series | A book, or several set in one world. | The essentials | Prose | Book | |
| Web serial | Fiction published a chapter at a time. | The essentials | Prose | Chapter | |
| Short story | A single short piece. | The essentials | Prose | Other | |
| Screenplay / TV | A film, a pilot or a series. | Script formats | Screenplay | Episode | Beta |
| Stage play | A play in acts and scenes. | Script formats | Stage play | Other | Beta |
| Comic / manga | A script in pages and panels. | Script formats | Comic script | Issue | Beta |
| Game / interactive | Branching dialogue, quests and in-game text. | Interactive narrative | Prose | Patch | Beta |
| Tabletop RPG | A campaign: sessions, NPCs, and what the players don't know. | World bible, Releases & reveals | Prose | Session | |
| Podcast / audio drama | A script for voices, sound and music. | Script formats | Audio script | Episode | Beta |
| Non-fiction / research | A book or a study built on sources. | Research & sources | Prose | Book | |
| Franchise / IP bible | One world shared by books, shows and games. | World bible | Prose | Book | Beta |
"The essentials" means no module at all: the editor, the binder, links, and the views that are always there. See Views.
Modules: what starts on, and what the type is meant for
A new project starts with only the modules its type can't be written without. The rest of the type's tool set is one click away: Plotra offers a module when a checklist step needs it, and More → More tools in the ribbon lists every module that is off.
| Type | On from the start | The type's full tool set |
|---|---|---|
| Novel / series | None | World bible, Releases & reveals, Review & editorial, Publishing |
| Web serial | None | Releases & reveals, Publishing |
| Short story | None | Review & editorial, Publishing |
| Screenplay / TV | Script formats | Script formats, Production, Releases & reveals, Publishing |
| Stage play | Script formats | Script formats, Publishing |
| Comic / manga | Script formats | Script formats, Production, Publishing |
| Game / interactive | Interactive narrative | World bible, Interactive narrative, Localization, Releases & reveals |
| Tabletop RPG | World bible, Releases & reveals | World bible, Releases & reveals, Publishing |
| Podcast / audio drama | Script formats | Script formats, Production, Releases & reveals |
| Non-fiction / research | Research & sources | Research & sources, Review & editorial, Publishing |
| Franchise / IP bible | World bible | Every module except the AI agent |
Things to know:
- The full tool set is what a sample project of that type has switched on, and what decides the Beta tag. It is not a limit: More tools offers every module in every type.
- A project started from the cold open also gets Releases & reveals if your answers made a release, a secret that someone knows, or a line only the game master sees.
- The AI agent is never part of a type. It can only be switched on once the workspace allows AI. See The AI agent.
- If you change a project's type, modules you switched on or off yourself stay as they are. The others follow the new type.
What each module adds is on the Modules page.
The format of new scenes
| Format | Types that start with it | What a page is made of |
|---|---|---|
| Prose | Novel / series, Web serial, Short story, Game / interactive, Tabletop RPG, Non-fiction / research, Franchise / IP bible | Paragraphs, headings and lists. |
| Screenplay | Screenplay / TV | Scene headings, action, character, dialogue, transitions. |
| Stage play | Stage play | Acts and scenes, stage directions, character and dialogue. |
| Comic script | Comic / manga | Pages and panels with captions, dialogue and SFX. |
| Audio script | Podcast / audio drama | Character lines with delivery notes, sound and music cues. |
The first scene of a new project is in this format, and so is every scene you create after it. Change the default under New scenes are written as in the project settings. See Script formats.
What a release is called
A release is whatever the story ships in. When you add one, its kind starts as the type's own: a book for a novel, a session for a campaign, an episode for a show. You can pick another kind for any single release. The kinds are book, chapter, episode, season, issue, volume, patch, session, beat and other.
Short story and Stage play have no natural unit, so their releases start as "Other".
The ribbon a project starts with
The ribbon shows five views to begin with. Which five depends on how the project was started, not only on its type. Every other view is under More, and you can rearrange the ribbon as you like.
| Project | Views in the ribbon, top to bottom |
|---|---|
| A novel, or any type but the two below, from the cold open | Graph, Codex, Outline, Draft, Read |
| A tabletop RPG from the cold open | Graph, Codex, Outline, Read, Releases |
| A screenplay from the cold open | Codex, Outline, Corkboard, Draft, Read |
| Any type made with the New project dialog | Graph, Codex, Outline, Draft, Read |
| A sample project | Graph, Codex, Releases, Secrets, Continuity |
| A project made from a template | The same as the template's. |
"Draft" is the Manuscript view, "Releases" is the Release roadmap and "Secrets" is Secrets & setups: the ribbon uses the short names.
Releases, Secrets and Continuity belong to modules. They are in the ribbon only while that module is on.
Because the ribbon is saved with your account, a view you pinned, hid or moved in one project is pinned, hidden or moved in all of them.
What else the cold open sets by type
Three types have their own track through the cold open: Novel / series, Tabletop RPG and Screenplay / TV. The other eight share the novel's.
| Novel / series | Tabletop RPG | Screenplay / TV | The other eight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra questions | One book or a series; whose point of view | Who's at the table; what happens in session one | Film, pilot or series; INT. or EXT. | None |
| First page | "Opening", in "Chapter 1" | "Session 1 prep", in "Session 1" | "Opening scene", in "Act One", "Pilot" or "Episode 1" | "First scene" |
| A chapter is called | Chapter | Session | Sequence | Chapter |
| Checklist | Novel | Tabletop | Screenplay | Novel |
A project made with the New project dialog gets none of these: it has the app's own words, no checklist, and one empty scene.
The Beta tag
A type carries Beta when its full tool set includes a module that is in beta: Script formats, Production, Interactive narrative or Localization. Those are the newer modules, built and open to everyone. The tag appears beside the type wherever you choose one, and as "(beta)" in the project settings.
Novels and tabletop campaigns are what Plotra is built around first, which is why those two lead the list of types.