Response to Bird by Bird 2 (for 3/15)

I really enjoy reading Lamott's Bird by Bird.  I think her approach to writing about writing is straightforward and amusing.  From this week's reading, I found her section on dialogue to be the mos helpful.  I rarely write stories and when I do, I always struggle with maintaining the character's character through dialogue.  She says to remember that you should be able to identify a character through their dialogue, and I found that helpful.  I makes me think that a lot of good writers could be good actors- you need to become a character when you write, a little bit, in order to know what their feelings, responses, speech, and actions should be.
Although there was a somewhat heated debate about plot vs. character in class last Thursday, I would have to say I agree more so with Lamott's viewpoint.  I think characters generate plot, or that the two are cyclical.  As in real life, we are shaped by experiences and other things arise as result of our doings.  You can't really separate plot from character just as you can not separate a personality from life experience.  These two things will always go hand in hand.