Every plot has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and every plot has some kind of inciting incident that kicks off the action, a climactic point where the action peaks, and a resolution following the climax. There are lots of ways to structure a plot. In most stories, these events have a cause-and-effect relationship to each other, like how the grandmother’s illness in Little Red Riding Hood caused Little Red to go into the woods with a basket of food, or how the ship hitting the iceberg in the movie Titanic resulted in the passengers being evacuated and Rose scrambling to find Jack. Do this just like you would for an essay outline-the key plot points listed in order, providing a basic framework for your story.Īs we mentioned above, a plot is simply the linear (or in some cases, nonlinear) series of events a story’s characters face. With your notes in hand, create a basic frame for your story plot. Jot down everything that crosses your mind, and don’t worry if it doesn’t all fit together neatly-you’ll organize it in the next step. What is the story about, really? Think about the themes you want to explore. The first step in writing a plot is brainstorming your story as a whole. It’s a pared-down, beat-by-beat frame that lists your story’s sections and a few details about each. For a lot of writers, writing a plot outline before writing the story’s scenes is a helpful way to organize their thoughts and keep their writing focused.Ī story outline is similar to an outline for an essay or other piece of writing. Whether you want to write a short story, a novel, a ballad, or any other type of narrative writing, you’re going to write a plot. It’s called an arc because in many cases, the progress from exposition to the rising action, climax, falling action, and end can be visually represented as an arc. To go back to our example story plot from before, a narrative might be the toad telling the story from his point of view, starting with the moment he spotted the girls walking toward their jungle gym and ending with him proudly proclaiming the younger sister the Toad Princess.Ī story arc is the path the story plot points take from beginning to end. It’s the order in which the plot’s events occur and the perspective from which the story is told. But they have similarities and can’t exist without each other.Ī story’s narrative is the way the story is told. They are:Ī narrative is not the same as a plot. Journalist and author Christopher Booker identified seven types of plot in his book The Seven Basic Plots. Narrative writing is any writing that tells a story, like: They simply exist in their setting, with no conflict to face and no themes to explore.Īny kind of narrative writing needs a plot. Without a plot, the characters don’t do anything. Without a conflict, there’s nothing to drive the plot forward, and without a theme, a series of events is just a series of events. Similarly, you can’t really tell a story without a setting-with no explicitly named setting, the listener’s mind fills in the blanks or makes assumptions about its setting. Think about what happens if you try to tell a story with no characters: The narrator, parts of the setting, and even the readers become the story’s characters. In many ways, it’s what makes a story a story. The theme isn’t immediately apparent (which is the case in many stories), and the setting is the girls’ backyard.Ī plot’s purpose is to give a story structure. In our example story plot, the conflict is the toad’s request and the girls’ responses to it. Plot is one of the five elements present in every story: Those are all story elements that can interweave with the story’s plot, but at its core, a plot doesn’t include them. There are no details about the setting, the girls’ personalities, or their relationship. This is not what she expected, and she’s glad the encounter with the toad was fruitful. From that day forward, every toad the younger sister meets bows to her.The toad thanks the girl, then names her the Toad Princess.Despite her sister’s protests and warnings, the younger sister goes into the family’s pantry and brings the toad a sleeve of crackers.The older sister is suspicious yet intrigued because toads don’t talk.It tells the sisters to go into their house and bring back snacks. The younger sister finds a toad sitting in the grass.Two sisters are playing in their backyard, as they do every day after school. It’s the action of the story that drives the narrative forward. More specifically, the plot is the series of events that take place. Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly What is a story plot?Įssentially, a story plot is what happens in the story.
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