Plot and plot structure

1. The plot The plot – is a series of interlinked events in which the characters participate Every plot – is a series of meaningful events.

Each event in the story is always logically related to the message; the theme; the conflict and is related to the development of the characters within a story.

2. The character and conflict Conflicts may be: External Internal

External conflicts: Man against man; Man against nature; Man against society or the established order in the society (poverty, racism, injustice, exploitation, inequality) One set of values against another set of values.

Internal conflicts: Man against himself. (The conflict is localized in the inner world of the character and is rendered through his thoughts, feelings, intellectual processes).

3.The components of plot structure 1) Exposition (contains the setting) 2) complications 3) climax 4) resolution/denouement For novels: 5) the prologue 6) the epilogue

4. The climax The climax – the key event, the crucial moment of the story.

5. The resolution The resolution brings the actions to an end. It is a conclusion, when everything becomes clear. The story may have no resolution.

6. Plot structure techniques: A strait line narrative presentation (events in chronological order) A complex narrative structure (not in chronological order with flashbacks to the past) A circular pattern (when the closing event in the story returns the reader to the introductory part) A frame structure (a story within a story. The 2 stories contrast or parallel).