Emotion drives behavior, behavior drives story. ~Nancy Kress
What’s happening in a story is most often happening to a character. Characters and plot intersect in several ways:
A character can create a plot point through action—the character does something and the story is a step closer to completion. (This applies to creative non-fiction too.)
A character can be acted upon by others, by nature, by God, and can create another plot point by reacting.
A character can remember things. Flashbacks are character-rich plotting devices that can give the reader information from the character’s backstory. Flashbacks don’t need to be told in chronological order.
Plot points can also be created by the imagining of the character. This could be a dream, a fantasy, a daydream, or a projection. An excellent example of this device can be seen in Flannery O’Conner’s Everything that Rises Must Converge. Notice how the son’s wild imaginings affect the plot.
Using your own list of characters, write or rewrite a story from the POV of a minor character. How does the plot change?
More reading: Junot Diaz The Sun The Moon The Stars
Tobias Wolff The Rich Brother
Julia Alvarez The Rudy Elmhurst Story
Building a Better Story 