 Plot › Sequence of related events that make a story hang together.  Includes characters who experience some conflict or problem.  Details are filled in before, during and after the problem takes place.  The story takes place within a specific span of time.

 A plot has five basic parts: › Exposition › Rising Action › Climax › Falling Action › Resolution

 Exposition › Also called the Basic Situation › Opening / Introduction › Introduces a main character who wants something very much and who encounters a problem or conflict while trying to get it.

 Rising Action › The writer develops the elements of conflict further, and new complications or problems arise.  Conflict – struggle, clash, or problem between opposing forces, characters, or emotions.  Internal – a struggle between opposing needs, desires or emotions within a single character. *A struggle inside their own mind or heart.  Man vs. Self  External – A character struggles against an outside force – another character, society, something in nature, etc.  Man vs. Man  Man vs. Nature  Man vs. Society

 Climax › High point of the plot › The most exciting or suspenseful moment in the story › The climax is when something happens that decides the outcome of the conflict.

 Falling Action › The after-effect of the climax › The story just begins to wind down; however, the problems are not necessarily solved yet.  Resolution › Sometimes called the denouement › The problems are resolved and the story ends.

 Sequence of events in a plot › Most common  Chronological Order – start at the beginning and tell the story in the order that it happened › However…  Other techniques can be used to manipulate time and control the reader’s feelings.  These other techniques may help create suspense or dramatize a moment as well.  Slowing time down can help accomplish this.

 Other techniques used to manipulate time › Flashback – the present action is interrupted with a scene or scenes from the past  Can reveal the past life of a character or explain why someone is in a current situation › Flash-forward – visiting a character’s future › Foreshadowing – a writer plants clues that hint at something that will happen later in the plot

 Setting › Where and when a story takes place › Is it possible for an interesting story to have no setting … no indication of where or when the action takes place?  Yes!  If the characters and situations are strong enough, they will hold our attention in empty space, just as a play presented on a bare stage could hold our interest.

 In real life, events occur somewhere… so, fiction specifies a setting most of the time.  Think of how crucial setting would be in: › a story about a prisoner › a story about a castaway on the Pacific › a story about a colony on Mars  What details would you need in the setting to make each of the above stories a success?

 Setting can contribute to a story’s emotional effect. › Mood – the story’s atmosphere  gloomy, cheerful, etc.  A setting in the spring can give a sense of hope or rebirth. / A setting in the winter can give a sense of death. › Tone – the writer’s attitude toward a subject or character (like a tone of voice)  mocking, tender, joyful, vindictive, etc.  Setting details can help to reveal the tone.

 Setting can help reveal character. › Characters affect environment  If the author wishes to portray an “untidy” character, he/she may show us a setting from the mess in their room.  Sometimes, the setting can provide the main conflict. › A group of tourists get lost in the Arctic or in the jungle = a fight for survival.