1. Story Structure And the Narrative Arc

2. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. Beginning: Hook, Exposition Middle: Rising Action, Climax End: Resolution

3. Beginning Middle End

4. The Hook Narrative hook: Opening a story in an attention-grabbing way that "hooks" readers' attention so they will keep reading.

5. The Hook In medias res: Beginning the story in the middle of an exciting event. Examples: I closed my eyes, but couldn’t shut out the sound of squealing tires. When I awoke, I smelled smoke. *** Grandma’s head poked in through the doorway, “Darling, would you mind running to the drugstore just up the road? I’ve run out of Diet Coke.” “But, but, ahhh, fine,” I snarled, and tossed the Xbox controller onto the couch.

6. Exposition Serves to expose readers to information that will later be necessary for the story, such as characters, setting, tone, backstory, and foreshadowing of potential conflict.

7. Rising Action The transition into conflict, when complications arise. Traditionally, conflict occurs as one of the following: character vs. character character vs. self character vs. environment

8. Climax When conflict reaches its highest, most intense point. Typically, tension peaks just before the resolution occurs. Example: “Jack felt the car spin. His eyes closed. He listened. Then, chaotic sound of metal hood impacting a tree trunk. He smelled smoke. His eyes opened, flickered, and focused, only to find the small door handle just out of reach.”

9. Resolution When the tension falls, often as the story draws to a close. The conflict has run its course, and action/tension is lessening.

10. Resolution Comic Resolution: The conflict is resolved favorably for the protagonist, leaving her better off.

11. Resolution Tragic Resolution: The conflict has overcome the protagonist, leaving her worse off.

12. Resolution Linear Resolution: After conflict resulting in rising action and climax, the protagonist is left largely unchanged by the events of the story.

13. Resolution Cliffhanger: The story ends unsolved, possibly to draw the audience back to the next episode.

14. Narrative Arc Variations

22. Tense Past: Staring into the dark gun barrel, he weighed his options. Shifting his eyes back and forth between the revolver and the neon pink cup, he handed over his Slurpee.

23. Tense Present: He stares into the dark gun barrel and weighs his options. He shifts his eyes back and forth between the revolver and the neon pink cup, and hands over his Slurpee.

24. Tense Future: He will stare into the dark gun barrel and weigh his options. Then shifting his eyes back and forth between the revolver and the neon pink cup, he will hand over his Slurpee.

25. Narrative Mode First Person: the point of view in which the story is narrated by one character at a time. This character may be speaking about herself or sharing events that she is experiencing, often using the pronoun “I”.

26. Narrative Mode Second Person is a narrative mode in which the protagonist or another main character is referred to by second-person personal pronouns and other kinds of addressing forms, for example the second person pronoun "you".

27. Narrative Mode Third Person (omniscient) is when the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story, referring to other characters has “he” or “she”.