Plot is not memoir.

Plot is not diary.

Plot is not journal.

Plot is not history.

Plot is not erotica.

Plot is not dialogue.

Plot is not essay.

Plot is not philosophy.

Plot is not chronicle.

Plot is not action alone.

Plot is a very specific thing. It’s also the thing that’s absolutely indispensable to novel writing.

Plot is drama.

Drama is conflict. Conflict is a clash. A clash of what? A clash of desires.

Plot is a clash of desires.

Such a clash occurs when, for example, two opposing views are pitted against each other.

Plot is a sequence of purposeful conflicts that culminate in climax.

He wants her who loves another, but she must marry him nevertheless, in order to save the one she truly loves. That is a plot.

The ability to plot is not an inherent but a developed skill. You can learn it if you practice it.

The reason that plot is the most important component to novel writing is that the fundamental goal of storytelling is to hold the readers’ interest.

Plot is the most effective means by which this is done.