Plots Unlimited: A Creative Source for Generating a Virtually Limitless Number and Variety of Story Plots and Outlines [Paperback]

Tom Sawyer (Author), Arthur David Weingarten (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0962747602 | ISBN-13: 978-0962747601 | Edition: 1st

This is a veritable thesaurus of exciting plot twists and story moves that work for any composition of any genre.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Sawyer and Arthur David Weingarten

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Ashleywilde, Inc.; 1st edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962747602
• ISBN-13: 978-0962747601
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Novelist, screenwriter, playwright Thomas B. Sawyer was Head Writer/Showrunner of the hit CBS series, MURDER, SHE WROTE, for which he wrote 24 episodes. Tom has written 9 network TV pilots, 100 episodes, and has been Head Writer/Showrunner or Story Editor on 15 network TV series.

Tom wrote, directed and produced the cult film comedy, ALICE GOODBODY, and is co-librettist/lyricist of JACK, an opera about John F. Kennedy, backed by the Shuberts, that has been performed to acclaim in the US and Europe. He is publisher of STORYBASE 2.0 writer's software.

The best-selling mystery/thriller, THE SIXTEENTH MAN, is Tom's first novel. His book, FICTION WRITING DEMYSTIFIED, and STORYBASE are Writer's Digest Book Club Selections. He's taught writing at UCLA, at other colleges and universities, at numerous major writers conferences, and online at Writers University. Mr. Sawyer has been nominated for an Edgar and an Emmy. His website: www.ThomasBSawyer.com

Tom's latest thriller is NO PLACE TO RUN.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is a tool. Remember that and you'll love it., June 16, 2006

By 

Rob Siders "52 novels. I counted them myself." (Denver, Colo.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plots Unlimited: A Creative Source for Generating a Virtually Limitless Number and Variety of Story Plots and Outlines (Paperback)

I picked this book up at my local library without knowing anything about it. I didn't spend much time with it while I was browsing and when I got it home I thumbed through it for about 15 minutes trying to get a better sense of the process of constructing plots ... without reading the instructions.

I was baffled.

Then I dialed up Amazon and read some of the reviews. Most of them are unflattering: the book is ripped off from William Wallace Cook's "Plotto"; it's too hard; good if all you want to write is cliched fiction; good if all you want to write are short stories; the plots are overdone and dated.

I'm a man who likes to dig into something and see for myself. These reviews weren't good enough for me. So I logged off the Internet, grabbed the book and began plotting.

My reaction to the book, as a tool, is considerably different than what many others here said.

* Who cares if the book rips off "Plotto"? That classic book is long out of print. Yeah, as a writer I have some issues with the authors of "Plots Unlimited" not giving more credit to Cook. And, at the same time, the public domain is a fiction writer's goldmine. I can live with this.

* The instructions can be a little daunting. I found myself going back and forth repeatedly to the front of the book to make sure I understood what my next step was. On the one hand, I felt it slowed the creative process to a degree.

On the other hand, I think that's good ... at least for me. I'm often ablaze with ideas. Some are good. Most are terrible: okay for a scene or three, but not really enough to develop a plot. This book forced me to slow down and think about how to structure my ideas in ways that make sense for the story. And because each entry in the book leads to multiple elements, both as lead ins and lead outs, I could think about numerous directions instead of just the first thing that popped into my head.

If anything, this process made me more aware of more possibilities by turning on some deep brain thinking about the choices.

* I don't buy the cliche criticism. Most good fiction is filled with cliches and really great writers use them in everything they write. They just do it better.

* I don't buy the short story criticism, either. Novels are made of scenes and subplots that propel the master plot forward incrementally. Use this book to pick your master plot. Then layer your subplots into it. Heck, use the book to create your subplots, too, if you want.

* I, too, found the situations overdone and dated. In the end, though, it didn't matter because imagination took over. When I arrived at a situation that was too cheesy (some are flat-out laughable) or hackneyed, because I was already using critical thinking, I could easily make substitutions for whatever "Plots Unlimited" threw at me.

The thing to remember is that this book is a tool with a specific purpose. You wouldn't use a hammer when a saw is the right choice. With that in mind, this book won't write your stories for you. It won't help you with emotion and setting and character development. It's a plotting tool. Period.

In the end, I don't care about the criticisms. For me, this book is a keeper.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for writer's block, and moments where you need a nudge, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Plots Unlimited: A Creative Source for Generating a Virtually Limitless Number and Variety of Story Plots and Outlines (Paperback)

This is a good book for writers who are stuck on a dead-end plot point and need a nudge in the right direction. A previous reviewer complained about the book's ineffective qualities with science fiction, but it's the writer's job to manipulate the basic conflict situations provided in the book. This book will not give you EXACT PLOTS for your story. But it WILL offer suggestions on directions you could take with your story. On Page 126, the second part of "Conflict Situation - #953" reads, "Jack, wanting peace and quiet, assumes a false identity and finds a distant retreat." The retreat could be a dilapidated apartment in Queens, a rural farm in Montana, or a distant planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. Those creative souls who look at the contents of this book in LITERAL terms will find nothing useful because it's only intended to spark the writer's imagination, NOT provide easy plots for lazy writers. I think this is a wonderful resource, and I recommend it to any aspiring, or professional writer out there who needs a little nudge to get their story moving.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful Reference for the Imaginative, July 10, 2002

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plots Unlimited: A Creative Source for Generating a Virtually Limitless Number and Variety of Story Plots and Outlines (Paperback)

Once you understand how to use the book "Plots Unlimited" you will never be short of a basic plot line or subplot again. After reading through it, I sat down in front of the television, watched several modern shows and found the plot line for every one of them in the book. I flipped over to HBO and again found the storylines for each of the current movies in the book. This is not to say that the book will help you write a story, it helps only with the very basic plot line. A lot of would be writers lacking imagination will have a hard time with this book because it does not write the story for you.

Several years ago I was deeply involved in the study of magic tricks. At the time I had an old-timer tell me that there were no new tricks, only new ways of presenting the same old tricks. I did not believe that at all because of the wonderful new tricks that David Copperfield and others performed. As I learned the secrets I found that he was indeed right. New methods were extremely rare, almost every "new" trick was actually a masterful change of the surroundings, distractions, story line, etc. This book is the same sort of thing. It will provide you with the various changes and movements through a good story line, but it is up to you to provide the background and breathe life into the plot so that it becomes spellbinding.

In the hands of a skilled writer or anyone with a strong imagination this book can provide thousands of combinations of plots and subplots from which to springboard into a wonderful piece of fiction. A recommended book for any serious writer with a decent imagination.