Plot is . . .

False starts and stops and twists and turns.

The protagonist wanting something and not getting it—over and over.

Plot is the boring part of life made less boring.

Plot is process.

Plot is all the mistakes you make while you're trying to get better at something, and then afterward you pretend that you didn't make them.

Plot is revelation of all the flaws in the protagonist.

Plot is not a direct line. It's crooked and goes backward and loops around and may end up at the same place it started at.

Plot is getting somewhere the least straight way.

Plot is the montage part of the movie actually shown in more detail.

Plot is everyone who says no to the protagonist—and why and how and the pain that comes afterward.

Plot is what makes the protagonist change and become the kind of person that would be able to get what the protagonist wanted in the first place.

Or sometimes plot is what makes the protagonist change into the kind of person who doesn't want what the protagonist wanted in the first place anymore, but something a lot better, or bigger, or maybe even smaller.

Plot isn't explosions, battle scenes, or cool magic demonstrations. That's candy. Plot is behind the scenes, plodding, and planning.