• The Plot Machine

  • Writer Better Stories Faster
  • By: Dale Kutzera
  • Narrated by: Dale Kutzera
  • Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (132 ratings)

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The Plot Machine  By  cover art

The Plot Machine

By: Dale Kutzera
Narrated by: Dale Kutzera
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Publisher's summary

There are a lot of books on story structure, but only The Plot Machine presents a step-by-step guide to designing a story. In clear, precise language, this guide discusses the various types of stories we tell, their specific parts, and how they are assembled. Say good-bye to staring at the blank page waiting for lightning to strike. Just put a few coins in the plot machine, and write better stories faster.

©2015 Dale Kutzera (P)2015 Dale Kutzera

What listeners say about The Plot Machine

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Great Content, But Useless As An Audiobook

I'm a filmmaker and frequently try my hand at screenwriting, so I get lots of books like this to inspire and to learn more about the craft. I really love the content of this book! It breaks down stories into different types of characters, situations, themes etc. The problem with this is, is that it's pretty useless as an audiobook. What you really want is to be able to review these lists and breakdowns as you are writing, and an audiobook is just not a good format for that. So this audiobook has absolutely convinced me that the book is a must-buy, but the audiobook itself is kind of useless. Buy the book instead!

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Basic Information: Does Not Live Up to Subtitle

If you've read a book on writing before, you'll learn nothing new here. I don't have a problem with that. Having the essentials of storytelling hardwired into your brain can't be a bad thing, so I don't mind hearing things I've heard before. That said, when you claim one will "Write Better Stories Faster," and you don't provide any original tips on how one would do that, well, I can't rate this higher than three stars. If the subtitle were, "The Elements of Storytelling," I'd have given it five stars.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good nuts and bolts information on plotting

What did you love best about The Plot Machine?

The information is to the point, and covers the major types of plots.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Narration is wooden but serviceable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. I listened to several parts over again to absorb the information.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Practical

really enjoyed it! lots of practical information to use right away. short and to the point. wish he had more books. Narrative was a bit monotone but I found it funny and enjoyable on my second and third listens

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

So monotone it's distracting

I made it 15 minutes into this book and turned it off. Mr. Kutzera narrated this book and should stick to writing. His delivery was so monotone that I was bored to tears and almost fell asleep while driving. I heard a few good points here and there -- but the wasted time and money left a bad taste in my mouth.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Overwhelmed with great information

The only flaw with this book is the title. It should be called "The Character Machine". However, it's not actually a flaw because, as the book explains: The character is the plot. Highly recommend and be ready to take notes and make a chart.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A few plot point ideas, but doesn't teach structure

Everything is vague. He gives a few examples of possible plot points, etc. Okay for getting ideas, but it doesn't do well at teaching story structure. The examples aren't from actual books/movies, which would have worked better to help you see story structure in action.

(Some of his advice even seemed misguided- he says it's okay to use a prologue for "conveying such tedious information" as "political history of a fantasy realm." That sounds like a good way to make your reader close the book.)

Also, his voice is a half step above a text-to-speech robot.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Unable to listen on my PC

I experienced technical difficulties when when I tried to download this title to my pc. Very frustrating. So I cancelled my Audible membership.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book Read it twice

Very concise

Going for the third read now

Reminded me a lot of what I had forgoten and made some new top points to consider in a minimal amount of time .

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • *
  • 08-05-18

excellent help for all writers

this book has helped me with my writting 100%. if you have an idea that's been stuck in your head, this book will give you the right structure to formulate your book. I seriously recommend it

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