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Hello, ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to learn about plot.
In every story we read there is a sequence to how things happen. This is called the plot
structure. It is logical and helps you, the reader, analyze the literature.
Imagine you are watching a movie and as the opening credits finish, the first thing you
learn is that the hero is really the villain. What? Why even watch the rest of the movie?
Imagine you are watching another movie and at the end you learn that the two main characters
are related and that's why they travel together in some post-apocalyptic world? Well, that
would have been nice to know at the beginning of the movie!
Or imagine you are watching a movie and throughout most of it you don't know why the protagonist
or hero is on a journey. You find out in the second reel (halfway through) that she is
trying to save her child. You might not connect emotionally with the character very well without
knowing that information. In order to avoid these frustrating situations,
all stories, written or produced, follow the plot structure. It looks like this...
It looks like a mountain with a short side on the right. The story begins at the far
left with exposition. Exposition is the beginning of the story where the reader learns about
the setting, where the story takes place, and any background information the author
wants to share. In the exposition the reader meets the main and often some secondary characters.
After the exposition, the left line of the diagram moves upward. This is where the author
introduces the triggering action. The triggering action sets up the conflict or the struggle
that the main character or characters engage in throughout the story. The conflict motivates
the character to move forward in the story. The triggering action will be specific to
the story, like the *** of a loved one that sets the main character on a quest for
revenge, but the conflict is general to literature and will be one of the following: person versus
person, person versus society, person versus nature, person versus technology, and person
versus self. Now that the story has begun and our character
has a reason to move forward or has momentum the next part builds the rising action. As
the left line continues it's upward slope, the rising action is the events that the characters
moves through which build tension or suspense and add complications to the conflict.
As the suspense and those complications build the story reaches the climax, the point in
the story when everything changes. It is not, I repeat, it is not about the most exciting
part of the story. The climax is when there is a significant change for the main character.
Like the line on the diagram changes direction, so does the path of the main character.
The events that follow the climax are called falling action. On the downward turn of the
line on the right side of the diagram are the events that lead the character to how
the conflict will end. This might include the resolution of smaller conflicts.
The end of the story, the lowest point on the right side of the diagram, is called the
resolution. This is the part of the story where the conflict is resolved, for better
or for worse. This is also were the theme or themes of the story are solidified.
By following the structure of the plot, writers lead the reader through the story. It is the
map that allows the reader to enter new worlds.