1. Plot Structure Analyzing plot points

2. Freytag’s Pyramid

3. A more detailed version of the pyramid

4. Exposition Set the scene Introduce characters Establish point of view

5. Inciting incident The story starts where the trouble starts Create conflict Complicate your protagonist’s life

6. Rising action The story builds Characters are in trouble Events increase

7. Climax The moment of greatest tension The point to which all events have led Characters act

8. Falling action Events are a result of the climax The story nears its end

9. Resolution The protagonist solves the problem If the problem is solved for the protagonist, it weakens her.

10. Denoument The denoument is the opposite of the exposition. Remaining plot threads are tied up. The reader learns how the characters will deal with what has happened to them.