How to Make Plot Your Friend

Many writers (myself included!) want to believe that a gift for exciting language or narrative invention will be a substitute for a genuinely arresting plot. Alas, it’s not. Velocity, it turns out, isn’t the same as direction. It can take many years to unlock the secrets of plot. But it shouldn’t! Plot, as Aristotle wrote, consists in the “artful arrangement of incidents”—a chain of consequence that helps establish a feeling of rising action. We’ll examine the work of writers such as Cheryl Strayed, Megha Majumdar, and Jane Austen in an effort to make sure your next plot keeps the reader enthralled.