The Plot

The Plot is fundamentally about writers—”makers of sentences” (12)—and the process of writing. Korelitz compares the value of narrative structure with the importance of good writing (compelling, original sentences). Evan is on the side of plot: “I just care about the story. Either it’s a good plot or it isn’t. And if it’s not a good plot, the best writing isn’t going to help. And if it is, the worst writing isn’t going to hurt it” (23). Jake, on the other hand, argues for dedicated craftsmanship: “books did not write themselves […] work of imagination, work of tenacity, work of skill—would be required to bring his own eventual books into the world” (6). This tension sets the stakes for Jake taking Evan’s plot structure. If Evan is correct, and story is king, Jake’s actions are immoral. If Jake and his publishers are correct, then the recycling of plot structures is expected and commonplace.

Korelitz sets fiction apart from poetry; poetry is not required to have plot, and very often is lyrical rather than narrative. To Jake, poetry is parenthetical: “Jake had nothing of value to teach aspiring poets. In his experience, poets often read fiction, but fiction writers who said they read poetry with any regularity were liars” (11). The narrative structure of fiction appeals to poets, but the lyrical nature of poetry is often lost on fiction writers.

The craft of writing has a social component that is highly sought after: “the heightened camaraderie of the MFA program [...] acted powerfully upon people who couldn’t be ‘out’ as writers in their ordinary, daily lives, perhaps not even to their own friends and families” (175). While Evan never cares for this sense of community, Jake takes an intermediate stance. Jake “now had a special responsibility to not be an asshole to other writers. Writers who were assholes to other writers were asking for it: social media had seen to that, and social media now claimed a significant portion of his mental bandwidth” (98). Unlike Evan, Jake believes social graces help a writer avoid online harassment. This is part of Jake’s willful self-delusion. Jake’s path through an unnamed MFA program recognizable as University of Iowa is not what garners him success—it’s his chance encounter with an “asshole” student with a good plot structure.

The Plot  often questions the role of MFA programs—both famous ones like the University of Iowa and unknown ones like Ripley College—in developing a writer’s craft. Jake critiques “that pabulum we used to serve up in the MFA program,” but he fervently believes in the idea that “Only you can tell your singular story with your unique voice” (132)—a platitude repeated in varying tones throughout the novel. When Jake discovers the Parker family’s true-life story, he considers writing a non-fiction companion piece to his novel, the story behind the story, because “what was the point of being a famous writer if he couldn’t use his unique voice to tell this story only he could tell?” (289). He feels inspired by his discovery and infuses the seemingly trite phrase with genuine enthusiasm. Anna twists this phrase like a knife while killing Jake: “I don’t see any reason not to tell you my story […] My singular story, told in my unique voice” (306). The Plot ends on this repeated phrase; Anna says in an interview that she wants to become an author because Jake “used to tell [her]: Everyone has a unique voice and a story nobody else can tell. And anybody can be a writer” (320).