1. Plot
“What happens?”

2. So what is plot anyways? Plot is what happens in a story
It consists of a series of related episodes, one growing out of another

3. Every plot has five parts…
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment in the story
Rising Action: the events coming out of the problem or conflict in the story that leads to the climax
Falling Action: all of the action events which follow the climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads. The solution to the problem!
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action begins

4. Exposition
The first part of a plot tells us about a story’s basic situation
Who are the characters and what do they want?
This is also where we usually find out about the conflict in a story

5. Conflict
Conflict is the struggle between opposing characters or opposing forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

6. Types of Conflict External Conflict Character vs. Another person
Character vs. Force of nature
Character vs. Group of people
Internal Conflict
The character is struggling with something inside of them.

7. Plot Diagram
Rising Action: the events coming out of the problem or conflict in the story that leads to the climax
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action begins

8. Rising Action
In the second part of a plot, one or more of the characters act to resolve the conflict (or problem).
The actions these characters take are called the “rising action” of a plot.
There are usually quite a few rising action events that lead to a climax. ALL of these are considered rising action.

9. Plot Diagram
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment in the story
Rising Action: the events coming out of the problem or conflict in the story that leads to the climax
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action begins

10. Climax The climax can be hard to find in a story
It is the turning point of any story - the point of no return that changes everything after that point for the characters
This is where the conflict is decided one way or another
You’ll begin to know who is going to win or what the outcome is going to be

11. What the climax is NOT A climax is NOT always:
Just the most exciting moment in a story
The most emotional moment
The most suspenseful moment

12. Plot Diagram
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment in the story
Rising Action: the events coming out of the problem or conflict in the story that leads to the climax
Falling Action: all of the action events which follow the climax
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action begins

13. Falling Action
The falling action is similar to the rising action of a plot.
Instead of being the events that lead up to a climax, the falling action events lead to the resolution.
It is called the falling action because after the climax, the story’s excitement winds down.

14. Plot Diagram
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment in the story
Rising Action: the events coming out of the problem or conflict in the story that leads to the climax
Falling Action: all of the action events which follow the climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads. The solution to the problem!
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action begins

15. Resolution The resolution is simply the ending of the story.
This is the part of the story where all the loose ends are tied up and the story is closed.

16. An important thing to remember…
When you are determining the exposition, climax, and resolution of a plot, you need to make sure they are all interconnected and related to each other.
The climax needs to be affected by the conflict and needs to affect the resolution.
The resolution needs to be related to the conflict and the climax.
The exposition needs to cause the climax and the resulting resolution.