Plot
is the most basic outer-story structure your book can have. Fiction
and memoir plots are all about action--what happens, where it happens,
who is involved. It's always external, never inside someone's head. We
see plotted events onstage, in front of us.
Nonfiction writers also use plot. Their outer story is about the method or ideas they are delivering.
Obviously,
in both cases, plot that's predictable is boring. How many books have
you picked up where you can foresee the ending so easily it's not even
worth reading? Plots must surprise the reader, and therefore also
surprise the writer. Again, nonfiction writers attend to this too--they
have to present their material (their "plot" or outer story) in a way
that shows its uniqueness.
Like agents will ask you: How is your book unique, different, a twist or a surprise? Plots give you this opportunity.
But
most of us stay safe with our plots. We keep to the knowns rather than
venture into material that will surprise. How do you get out of this
rut, as a writer? How do you stop repeating yourself with predictable
plotting?
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