Plot Development
How to build a story
Differences between “Story” and “Plot”
• Story: a chronological sequence of events– “A” happens; then “B” happens; then “C”
happens, etc. in the exact order in which they occur in time
• Plot: the purposeful organization of events; ordering events to reveal meaningful connections between them in telling a story– author chooses which events to tell and
when to tell them– can be non-linear
• Flashback• en media res
"I agree that a film [plot] should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order."
--Jean-Luc Godard (French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic—most-noted for his work in the 1960’s)
What You’ve Been Taught Before—
What can you infer about the structure of story from this diagram? Any inaccurate depictions?
A Better Depiction—
Conflict Introduction
Conflict Development
Conflict Resolution
Exposition: the narrator’s introduction to setting, characters, and opening situation
Gilligan’s Island The Beverly Hillbillies The Nanny Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (just for fun ;0)
Conflict Introduction—
Narrative Hook: the event that introduces the central conflict of the story
(aka—the inciting event)
Rising Action: the events in the story that twist the plot and raise tension, leading to a moment of crisis (climax) that determines the outcomeof the plot
Conflict Development—
(aka) Nouement—(Fr.) literal translation: “knotting up” of the plot
Conflict Resolution—
Climax/Crisis Point the one event that determines
the outcome of the conflict; the final battle in the war that
reveals the winner the moment of crisis—
the final decision with no turning back
a.k.a. epiphany — moment of recognition the “aha!” moment when we recognize the winner of the
conflict/the outcome of the plot perhaps when a protagonist
recognizes the path he must take or his true nature or his family origins (think Oedipus)
perhaps when the protagonist’s true self or role or agenda, etc. is revealed to the other characters.
Conflict Resolution—
Denouement/Resolution
Denouement — (Fr.) literal translation: the “un-knotting” or “untying” of the plot
the fallout or consequences that unravel after the turning point/climax;
what happens after the war is won; brings closure
