Also known as the initiating event, exposition is typically the introduction to a story and sets up the major plot points in the narrative. For example, in Hamlet, the initial encounter between Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus sets up much of the story's background and sets up most of the...
A story’snarrativeis the way the story is told. It’s the order in which the plot’s events occur and the perspective from which the story is told. 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 w...
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2The Elements of Plot Understanding afew basic termsmakes it easier to define the plot of a story. Theinciting actionof a plot occurs near the beginning of the story, when the problem or conflict emerges. For example, in the story of Cinderella, the inciting action is the announcement that...
This is the part of the plot that sets the rest of the plot in motion. Excitement grows as tensions get higher and higher, ultimately leading to the climax of the story (see below). For example, inHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the rising action would be when we learn who ...
What is the plot in The Story of Keesh? What is a very short story called? What is the plot of the short story The Necklace? What is the short story The 11:59 about? What is the short story That Spot about? What is the short story Who Knows? about? What is an example of a ...
As the example of Romeo and Juliet makes clear, it may not be possible to definitively identify the point of climax in a story, since there might be several points at which it seems like the height of tension or conflict has been reached. For such stories, different people will often ...
Theresolutionis the plot’s end, whether that resolution is a happy ending or sad ending, fun or frightening, satisfying or unsatisfying. The resolution might tie up loose ends or leave important elements of the story unresolved. Plot Diagram Example ...
Hemingway’s famoussix-word storyis an amazing example of plot: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Why are they for sale? Because the baby never wore them (and oh, it’s so sad). These aren’t disconnected facts; this is actually a miniature plot. More on that in a moment...
A plot point, on the other hand, marks a major turning point in the plot. So a story beat and a plot point will overlap, but not every story beat is a plot. There are far more story beats than plot points in a given story. ...