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PLOT NOTES
EVERY PLOT HAS 8 PARTS:
« The EXPOSITION is the set-up. It is how things were before the story began. In this part of a story, the reader learns the characters, the setting, and the BASIC SITUATION. The Basic Situation is how things were before the story began.
“Once upon a time there was a young girl named Cinderella. She lived with her mean step-mother and her two ugly step-sisters. Ever since her father died, Cinderella did all of the housework and slept by the fire in the kitchen . . . .”
« The NARRATIVE HOOK is the first problem faced by the main character. It is the beginning of suspense, of wondering what happens next.
“Until one day, it was announced that the Prince wanted to marry. In order to choose his wife, he would hold a great ball, and everyone throughout the country should come . . . .”
« The COMPLICATIONS are a series of obstacles the main characters have to solve. Each complication is a step on the way to solving the overall problem of the story.
“Cinderella had nothing to wear to the ball. She had no way to get there. When the Fairy Godmother provided her with a beautiful gown and shoes, a coach and servants, there was a catch: Cinderella had to be home by midnight. She and the Prince met, danced, and fell in love. The clock struck, Cinderella fled, the glass slipper was left, and the Prince traveled the country trying the slipper on everyone’s foot to find her . . . .”
« This overall problem sets the CONFLICT. There are four basic conflicts:
man versus man man versus society
man versus nature man versus himself
“No one expected Cinderella, the dirty girl by the kitchen fire, to be the one to marry the Prince. The mean step-mother made sure that no one would know that she was even there . . . .”
« The CLIMAX is the most intense, exciting, or important event of the story. After this event, the suspense is relieved; the reader knows how things will turn out.
“When the Prince came to the house where Cinderella lived, the glass slipper did not fit the ugly step-sisters, even though they took a big knife and cut off their toes and their heels. (The original fairy tales were harsh and gory before Disney got hold of them.) Someone told the Prince that there was another young woman in the house – Cinderella. Of course, the slipper fit her perfectly . . . “
« FALLING ACTION is all of the events that are a direct result of the climax. These events happened because the climax happened.
“Cinderella and the Prince were married, and she went to live with him in the palace . . . .”
« The RESOLUTION is what the reader can reasonably guess about what will happen to the characters after the story is over.
“And they lived happily ever after . . . .”
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