Plot Structure: The Building Blocks to Every Story
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Building things are kind of fun. Are you the kind that likes to make up your own thing or follow
the
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instructions? But the one thing about your ideas is that if you're not careful your structure can
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be unstable. It happens to the best. You see I got this Dumbledore and I figured he needs a
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Hogwarts castle. But the instructions for this thing are insane! I think I could just look at
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the picture and figure it out. And when I finish, Dumbledore is going to look great in his tower.
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You know, stories are like building blocks. You might have the right elements of fiction but if
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you don't have good structure, it's not going to work out so well. I guess I'll start over and use
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the instructions this time but let me connect this to how good stories need good structure.
Basic Story Structures
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We all know that every good story has to have plot but what does that mean? Well let's talk
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about plot structure. Plot is a series of events with conflict. And every good story has a problem
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that must be solved. We call that conflict. Without it, You get boring stories. You know,
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kind of like the ones you read in English! The conflict is often between a protagonist and an
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antagonist. That'd be like Batman finally stopping the Joker from one of his dastardly plans.
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But stories need good structure. That's the design or layout of your story.
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So what kind of structure do all stories have? Well they all have a beginning,
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a middle, and an end. But this structure does not indicate that there's any conflict.
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It's just three events. So let's visually represent conflict by bumping up the middle
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and well, we start getting what appears to be a mountain shape. Let's trace the outline of this
Who is Gustav Freytag?
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mountain and what do we get? Freytag's pyramid. Wait a second. Who in the world is Freytag?
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Glad you asked! Gustav Freytag is a German author and in 1863 he created what we consider
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a universal structure for stories. And he's been torturing students with it ever since.
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He believed good stories have two major parts: the beginning and the end. But with a climax
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that takes place between those two. That leaves us with five other parts of his structure. We've
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got exposition, inciting incident, rising action, falling action, and the resolution,
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or dénouement if you're French. Let's take a look at each of these in detail. Exposition
What is Exposition?
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is the beginning of your story. It's where basic story elements are introduced. We see where it's
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taking place. We meet our main characters and usually there's a basic situation. But one thing
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that you're not going to find in the exposition is the main conflict. That's why you see the
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line is flat. There is no conflict. Exposition simply sets the scene and story but remember
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we've gotta introduce conflict. So shortly after that exposition, we hit that mountain
What is Rising Action?
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and just like climbing a mountain in real life, climbing the story mountain means conflict. The
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inciting incident is that very moment where a force requires the protagonist to take action,
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which leads us right into rising action. Each step in your story should build in action.
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They might meet new characters along the way. They might have a lot of conflict to face. But
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as the story progresses, we should see conflict escalate. Climbing a mountain is a lot of work
so
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our characters should go through a lot of conflict in the story. Finally, we're at the top of the
What is the Climax and Turning Point?
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mountain and it's called the climax but this is not a place to rest. Oh no siree. This is when the
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main conflict is the strongest. Let's visualize this with some characters. Our hero has made it
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to the climax of the story. He's gone through a lot to get here but now he must face his enemy:
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the antagonist. But don't forget that during the climax the conflict appears to be its strongest
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and that's when all hope appears to be lost. Oh! Ouch! Oh no! Our protagonist has just fallen.
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Is it over? No, the climax ends with a turning point in the story. Something happens that allows
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our protagonists to succeed. To overcome. And wins over the conflict. Yay! Good job,
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dude! Also note that the turning point can create change in your character because by the time
they
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reach the end of the climax they've been through a lot to overcome that problem and this leads
us
What is Falling Action and Resolution?
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into falling action. This is where all the events that follow the climax occur. We are faced with
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the aftermath and the consequences of the climax. Each step our character takes is a step
away from
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conflict which leads us to the resolution. We've made it the end. The story is over
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and there's no more conflict. Did you notice that the line is flat? So there you have it:
Other Plot Structures
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Freytag's Pyramid. But this is not the only structure a story has to follow. Oh you heard
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that right, Freytag. What other structures have people come up with? Well the hero's journey,
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three acts, Fichtean curve, save the cat, seven point story, in media res. Yeah don't be jealous
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Freytag. Good writers will see what structure best fits the story they're trying to tell.
Conclusion
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I did it! I built Hogwarts! I decided to follow the manual this time which made for
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a much sturdier structure. And now the finishing touches. And then you can sit back and
marvel:
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Hogwarts castle...wait a second is that Mickey Mouse?! This isn't Hogwarts! I did the wrong set!
