Bird By Bird Response

Plot

In this chapter, Anne Lamott describes what makes for a good plot and some tips on how to write it. The plot is like the backbone of the story. Everything in your book revolves around the plot. Anne stresses the importance of a kind of natural writing. You can't force anything in your book. You have to let your writing guide you. She gives the example that the characters are the ones actually writing the book, they just need you to write it down because they have bad handwriting.

Everything that Anne taught us about characters is important while developing the plot. She says, "...plot is: what people will up and do in spite of everything that tells them they shouldn't, everything that tells them they should sit quietly on the couch and practice their Lamaze, or call their therapist, or eat until the urge to do so passes." If you know what your characters care about most and what their true beliefs are, then you have a basis to write a story. Because a good plot will risk those things that they care most about. The characters come first. If you pick one fixed plot, and never sway from that, your writing will come across fixed and fake. You can't force anything. Every English teacher I have ever had has taught the class to never title your work until it is completely written, because you never know what the story will be like until the end.

Anne tells us about the necessities to a good plot: setup, build up, and payoff. The set up sets the scene. It's where we learn about the characters and their backgrounds and learn about their interactions with each other and the world. The build up is where shit happens, or as Anne Lamott says, "where you get all the meat off the turkey." And the payoff answers all the questions and ties the entire book together.