Plot generator that turns a premise into a full outline
You have a character or a setting but no idea what actually happens. This prompt has your todo.is agent pitch three different plots for your premise, then build the one you like into a beat-by-beat outline with stakes, a midpoint twist and an ending that pays off the setup.
The prompt
- Generate a plot for my story. Premise or starting point: [PREMISE]. Genre: [GENRE]. Format and length: [FORMAT]. First pitch 3 different plot options in 4 sentences each (goal, obstacle, twist, ending), each with a different engine (mystery, chase, moral dilemma). Then take option [WHICH OPTION OR "YOUR BEST"] and build a full outline using a three-act structure: inciting incident, first plot point, rising complications, midpoint reversal, dark moment, climax and resolution. For each beat give 2-3 sentences and note what the main character wants and fears at that point. List any setups I must plant early so the twist feels fair. Avoid these clichés: [THINGS TO AVOID]. Save it as a Word file.
What to change
- [PREMISE]: Your starting idea in a sentence or two, e.g. "a lighthouse keeper finds a phone that keeps receiving messages from next week".
- [GENRE]: e.g. thriller, cozy mystery, romance, sci-fi, literary fiction, YA fantasy.
- [FORMAT]: e.g. "novel, about 80,000 words", "short story, 5,000 words", "screenplay" or "D&D one-shot".
- [WHICH OPTION OR "YOUR BEST"]: Leave "your best" to let the agent choose, or run it twice and pick a number the second time.
- [THINGS TO AVOID]: Clichés or elements you don't want, e.g. "amnesia, chosen ones, love triangles".
Example result
- Three plot options
- 1. The warning (mystery). Mara, a lighthouse keeper on a remote island, finds a phone receiving texts dated next week. One says a fishing boat will sink. She tries to stop it, and the messages start naming her.
- 2. The sender (chase). Mara traces the texts to a coast guard officer who doesn't exist yet. Someone else wants the phone and arrives on the next ferry.
- 3. The choice (moral dilemma). The texts show that saving the boat means her brother loses his job and the island loses its school. Mara must decide who the future belongs to.
- Outline: option 1
- Act one
- • Opening: Mara's quiet routine. She avoids the village after her husband's drowning two years ago. Wants: to be left alone. Fears: the sea.
- • Inciting incident: A cheap phone washes up. It gets a text dated Thursday: "The Ellen Grey goes down at 4:12."
- • First plot point: Thursday comes. The Ellen Grey sinks at 4:12. Mara could have warned them.
- Act two
- • Rising complications: A new text predicts a fire. Mara warns the village and is called a crank, then a suspect when it happens.
- • Midpoint reversal: The texts are written in her husband's style. They aren't from the future; someone is causing these events.
- • Pressure: The harbor master offers to "keep the phone safe". The next message names Mara's own address.
- • Dark moment: She is locked out of the lighthouse during a storm, phone gone.
- Act three
- • Climax: Mara climbs the old outside ladder, relights the lamp by hand and guides a boat in, exposing the harbor master's insurance scheme.
- • Resolution: She returns to the village café for the first time. The phone buzzes once more. She throws it into the sea.
- Setups to plant early
- • The harbor master's debt (chapter 2, overheard at the pub)
- • The outside ladder, rusted and forbidden (chapter 1)
- • Her husband's habit of writing times to the minute
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and fill in your premise, genre and format.
- Paste it into todo.is on the Today screen, or text it to your agent on Telegram or WhatsApp.
- Read the three pitches and the outline your agent builds, then download the Word file.
- Reply with changes like "darker ending" or "merge options 1 and 3" and the agent reworks the outline.
Tips for a better result
- Give the agent a premise with a built-in question (who sent it, why now, what it costs). Questions generate plot; descriptions don't.
- Ask for the main character's want and fear at each beat. If they never change, the plot is just events in a row.
- Check the setups list before drafting. A twist feels fair only if the clues are there in act one.
- Tell your agent "remember this story" so later you can ask for chapter plans or scene lists without re-explaining.
plot generator: FAQ
- What is the best plot structure for a novel? Three-act structure works for most genres and is easy to plan with. Save the Cat beats and the hero's journey are more detailed versions of the same idea, and you can ask the agent to use either.
- How detailed should a plot outline be? Enough to know the major turns and the ending, usually 10 to 20 beats for a novel. Many writers leave scene-level details open so the draft can still surprise them.
- Will a generated plot be original? The agent writes a new plot from your premise, but all stories share structures. Your characters, setting and voice are what make it yours, so treat the outline as a starting point.
- Can it outline a screenplay instead of a novel? Yes. Put "feature screenplay" as the format and it maps the beats to rough page numbers in a 90 to 110 page script.
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