Story Arc Components Story Arc Examples Lesson Summary Frequently Asked Questions How does a narrative arc work? A narrative arc is a way of understanding the elements of a story's plot. Most stories include an exposition, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. To underst...
The Hero’s Journey is a universal story structure that follows the personal metamorphosis and psychological development of a protagonist on a heroic adventure. The protagonist goes through a series of stages to overcome adversity and complete a quest to attain an ultimate reward—whether that’s so...
The lines of the song had always followed the same slow, melancholy arcs. Caleb Crain, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023 One hundred per cent, there’s an arc to this, there has to be. Luke Leitch, Vogue, 19 June 2023 Why make a film whose form follows the emotional arc of a life...
A plot’s purpose is to give a story structure. In many ways, it’s what makes a storya story.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. Similarly, you can’t real...
Definition of Climax The climax in a story is the point, usually near the end of the third act, where the value of the story is tested to its highest degree. As such, it is also the pivotal moment in a story with the greatest amount of drama, action, and movement as the character ...
Stories come in many different shapes, called story arcs (read ourcomplete story arc guide here).The inciting incident's job is to begin the movement of the plot along the actual story arc, whether up or down. Some stories have events that begin movement in a negative direction, likeDie ...
How does a climax fit into the story arc? Every story has an arc, which is how the plot progresses from its inciting incident to its final scene. A story’s climax is part of its plot. Plot is one of the five elements that arefound in every story. The other four are: ...
A midpoint is a major plot point that happens around the middle of a film which has big ramifications for the protagonist and the story arc. Sounds pretty vague, right? That’s because a midpoint can take many forms– bringing the protagonist closer to their goal, or away from it, or ...
Sometimes,screenwriterssubvert our expectations for a story-arc or atraditional plot structureby “killing off” who we presumed to be the protagonist. A great example of this is Ned Stark fromGame of Thrones. The story begins with him as the central focus of the story. His mission is what...
Literature has many forms, and each form has its own unique structure for telling a story. When studying, teaching, or learning about narration in literature, it is also important to understand its underlying arrangement. How is it created? What are the parts of a story? What aspects differ...