1. Holt – English 9 Chapter 1
Plot and Setting

2. Plot
A series of related events in a story, each connected to the next

3. Sequence
The order in which a story’s events take place

4. Exposition
The opening of a story, when the characters and their conflicts are introduced

5. Setting
Time and Place (or Where/When) that a story takes place – usually explained in the Exposition

6. Conflict
A struggle between two forces

7. External Conflict
Conflict that takes place between two characters, a character and a group, or a character and a force of nature, i.e. an animal or a storm Examples: Man vs Man Man vs Town Country vs Country Father vs Son Man vs. Animal or Storm

8. Internal Conflict
A struggle that takes place within a character’s mind or heart. Example: Man vs Self

9. Climax
The most exciting part of a story; the moment when the outcome of the conflict is determined. The climax usually comes near the end of a short story.

10. Resolution (Also called Dénouement)
The very end of the story, when loose ends of the plot are tied up. In the part, all the events are resolved. (In a TV show, this is that last 1-2 minutes of a show, after the final commercial.)

11. Flashback
An action that interrupts the story to introduce an event that took place in the past

12. Flash-forward
An action that jumps ahead of the story to narrate an event that happens at a later time

13. Foreshadowing
Hints in the story that certain events are going to happen later

14. Atmosphere
The mood or feelings brought on by the story’s setting