Character plans may sound like kind of a boring topic to cover; they aren't as exciting as character goals, antagonists, conflicts, or stakes, but they are often still critical to communicate to your audience. In fact, conveying a character's plans will reinforce many of those exciting plot elements and help them show up in more impactful ways.
I consider the primary plot elements to be goals, antagonists, conflicts, and consequences.
And I consider the secondary plot elements to be progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.
And the tertiary plot elements are plans, gaps, and crises.
Plans reinforce goals and help create a sense of progress.
If a character wants to achieve a goal, but has no plan, then the goal feels more like a wish. It's what the character wishes would happen, but the character isn't trying to make it happen herself. She isn't making plans for how to make it happen.
