Students often ask, “What are plot points?” Simply put, a plot point is a a scene in your novel in which the story changes significantly, a major complication. Some would say it’s any scene where things get worse or that it’s a turning point in the story. So a plot point would be the place where your character faces more or more complex obstacles on the way to the story goal. A plot point advances the story (forces it to move closer to the climax scene). Without it, that part of the story wouldn’t make sense.
Writing Tip for Today: Fiction writers and memoirists often struggle with writing a brief (1-2 page) synopsis of the story. If you wonder what to include or leave out, ask yourself if the event (scene) is crucial to the story goal (what your character wants). If it’s not vital to the advancement of the overall story (not subplots) you can probably omit it from a synopsis. Use plot points to guide you in writing that synopsis.