A. Plot is a series of events that contain conflict.
B. There are many ways to arrange events, but the most common is the Freytag pyramid.
1. At the beginning of the story, there is an unstable situation, a conflict that sets
the plot in motion.
a) Exposition by the author states the conflict.
(1) Character is introduced.
(2) Setting is described.
(3) Historical background is given.
(i) Information such as the relationship of the characters can be important.
b) The author next introduces a series of events that are related or connected.
(1) Rising action makes the conflict stronger so that the plot moves toward a climax.
c) The climax is the strongest event, most intense feeling, or tensest moment in the
story.
(1) The rest of the story is usually brief.
d) The falling action has events that are much less intense than the climax and leads
towards the resolution and a stable situation at the end.
II. Two general categories of conflict: internal and external.
A. Internal conflicts take place within the minds of characters. (e.g. struggling with
temptation)
A PERSON vs. HIMSELF/HERSELF
B. External conflicts take place between individuals or between individuals and the world
outside of the characters.
A PERSON vs. A PERSON / PERSONS
A PERSON vs. the ENVIRONMENT
C. Conflict is not always violent. It can be physical, mental, emotional, or moral.
III. The conflict is often between characters.
A. The protagonist is usually the "main” character, but not necessarily the hero or heroine.
He or she usually fights for something.
B. The antagonist is the opponent of the protagonist and is usually a person, but can also
be a non-human force (e.g. a storm, a mountain, an animal).
C. A protagonist sometimes fights for evil, but we usually like and identify with the protagonist
and don’t like the antagonist. So, the protagonist is generally a good person.
D. In high quality fiction, contrasts between good and bad are not usually black and white;
judgments are difficult; choices complex.
IV. Suspense is used to make the reader ask, "What will happen next?"
A. This causes the reader to read on.
B. Suspense can involve:
1. mystery: some important information is missing (e.g. Who is the killer?)
2. dilemma: a difficult choice between two courses of action, both with some
undesirable result. (e.g. Too many people in a lifeboat.)
V. Endings:
A. Happy endings are usually demanded by readers of escape literature who don't want
to be depressed by the story. The protagonist's problems are resolved.
B. Unhappy endings show life better because some important real life situations have
unhappy endings, or the potential for unhappy endings. Fiction should present defeat
as well as success. (e.g. Not everyone learns a good lesson from defeat; some become
bitter.) The protagonist's problems sometimes remain unresolved.
1. Unhappy endings can make us think because they are more likely to raise important
issues.
C. Indeterminate endings occur when no definite conclusion is arrived at.
VI. Questions about plot
The first and, perhaps, most important question to ask about a story is, "What conflicts
does it show?"
A. What is the main conflict?
1. What are the minor conflicts?
2. How are the conflicts related?
3. What causes the conflicts?
B. Which conflicts are external and which internal?
1. Who is the protagonist?
2. Which values does the author associate with each side of the conflict?
C. Where does the main climax occur?
1. Why does it occur?
2. Is there more than one climax?
3. How is the main conflict resolved?
4. Which conflicts go unresolved? Why?
