This page has resources to help you understand and analyze plot and structure in a literary work.
APELC Skill: Explain the function of plot and structure.
Identify and describe how plot orders events in a narrative.
Explain the function of a particular sequence of events in a plot.
Explain the function of structure in a text.
Explain the function of contrasts within a text.
Explain the function of a significant event or related set of significant events in a plot.
Explain the function of conflict in a text.
Plot is the sequence of events in a narrative; events throughout a narrative are connected, with each event building on the others, often (but not always) with a cause-and-effect relationship.
The dramatic situation of a narrative includes the setting and action of the plot and how that narrative develops to place characters in conflict(s), and often involves the rising or falling fortunes of a main character or set of characters.
Plot and the exposition that accompanies it focus readers' attention on the parts of the narrative that matter most to its development, including characters, their relationships, and their roles in the narrative, as well as setting and the relationships between characters and setting.
Plot: the series of events and/or actions that make up the story. Plot is what is happening in the story. Plot events may or may not be told chronologically.
Exposition: details that provide background on the characters, the setting, the situation. Exposition helps us understand the significance of what happens in the story. There is always a specific reason why these details are included.
What is structure? - brief explanation & resource
Five Act Structure
Three Act Structure
Nonlinear Structures: Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Alison
chronology
Known as "Freytag's pyramid, this represents the five act narrative structure outlined by 19th century novelist and playwright, Gustav Freytag.
The 5 Elements of Dramatic Structure: Understanding Freytag's Pyramid by Sean Glatch on Writers.com
Exposition + Inciting Event
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Significant events: moments in the story in which something happens that adds meaning to the story. It is useful to describe these moments using the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why). It is also helpful to think about the function of a plot event; how does this event change the plot or the way in which we view the characters? What does this event mean for the plot or the characters?
Describing Plot Events: https://www.beemgee.com/blog/plot-events/
Circumstances: facts or conditions connected with or relevant to an event or action
Context: the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
Conflict: a situation that involves opposing forces or interests, especially one that creates tension.
Plotting: Conflict, Complication, Curiosity, and Connection from Andrew Wille Writing Studio
Plot develops from the interaction of multiple aspects of the story:
Interplay between internal & external conflict
Interplay between character & plot
Conflict can be internal (a conflict within oneself) or external. A story may involve multiple conflicts.
7 types of conflict:
Character vs. Character(s)
Character vs. Society
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Technology
Character vs. Supernatural
Character vs. Fate
Character vs. Self (internal conflict)
7 Types of Conflict in Literature - from Reedsy
This 2 minute video provides a great explanation of what a motif is, and how it differs from a theme.
12 Stages of the Hero's Journey:
The Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting the Mentor
Crossing the Threshold
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
The Ordeal
Reward
The Road Back
The Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
The Stages of the Hero's Journey - excellent paper with a detailed description of the 12 stages and the 7 character archetypes of the Hero's Journey
7 Character Archetypes of the Hero's Journey:
Hero
Mentor
Threshold Guardian
Herald
Shapeshifter
Shadow
Trickster
Joseph Campbell's 12 Steps of the Hero's Journey (includes image based on a clock)
100 Timeless Plot Archetypes by Nathan Baugh on Medium
How to Keep Readers Glued to Every Page of Your Book with Microplotting - lecture by John Claude Bemis presented by Authors Publish
Each scene in a novel should do one of two things: advance the plot or deepen understanding of the characters
Example & Tips for Advancing the Plot: 08:50 - 20:05
Identify what emotions the reader may feel
Example & Tips for Deepening Understanding of the Characters
5 character questions to keep in mind when structuring a scene: 31:08 - 45:52
What does my character want?
Why can't they get it?
What will they do about it?
Why doesn't it work out?
How will it end?