PLOT WHY PLOT Plot is what drives the

PLOT

WHY PLOT? Plot is what drives the story forward If you want to have a good and interesting story, you need a good plot Elements of a short story

If an author writes, "The king died and then the queen died, " there is no plot for a story. But by writing, "The king died and then the queen died of grief, " the writer has provided a plot line for a story.

WHAT IS IT? The events of a story told in a certain sequence The elements of plot include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Inciting Force Rising Action Climax Falling Action and Resolution

5 DIFFERENT PARTS OF A PLOT Inciting Force ing s i R ion Act Climax Falling Action Resolution

INITIAL CONFLICT/INCITING FORCE Refers to a character or event that initiates the conflict in the story It gets the ball rolling (so to speak) Some also just simply call this the Introduction or Exposition This is where we learn about/introduced to the characters and setting

RISING ACTION Series of events which follow the inciting force or initial conflict Conflict is developed It ends with the climax

CLIMAX Point of highest interest and dramatic tension in the story At the point of a story’s climax, the outcome of events becomes inevitable Some stories, however, end with the climax, leaving the rest up to the reader’s imagination Known as the “turning point”

FALLING ACTION Opposite of Rising action and refers to the events which follow the climax and lead to the story’s conclusion All the loose ends are tied up

RESOLUTION Sometimes known as the Denouement and is the final outcome of the story

LET’S TRY TO PLOT STORY POINTS Take the Quiz

SPECIAL PLOT TECHNIQUES Suspense - feeling of excitement or tension the reader experiences as the plot unfolds. Writers create suspense by raising questions in the reader's mind. Foreshadowing - a hint or clue about an event that will occur later in the story. Flashback - a section of the story that is interrupted to tell about an earlier event. Surprise ending - an ending that catches the reader off guard with something unexpected.

EXAMPLE CLIMAX: Wolf gets frustrated and jumps down the chimney to get pig #3. Event #7 Event #6 Wolf tries to trick pig #3 to come out of house. Big Bad Wolf can’t blow down brick house. Event #5 Event #4 Big Bad Wolf blows house down and eats pig #2. Event #3 Event #2 Big Bad Wolf blows house down and eats pig #1. Pig #2 builds house of wood. Event #1 Pig #1 builds house of straw. EXPOSITION: Three little pigs leave home for the first time. Pig #3 builds house of bricks. Wolf falls into boiling pot over fire. RESOLUTION: Pig #3 cooks and eats Big Bad Wolf for revenge.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT STORY THIS PICTURE COMES FROM?

What’s happening at this point in the story? What plot elements from the Cinderella tale can you list? It’s important to note that a plot element can seem quite different yet accomplish the same purpose in the narrative

YOU TRY Cinderella Looking at various versions of Cinderella

MI'KMAQ (NATIVE AMERICAN) CINDERELLA Predict how plot or setting elements in the familiar Cinderella tale might change in a Native American (Eastern Woodlands) setting In the Mi'kmaq (Native American) Cinderella tale, the heroine's ability to see the mighty hunter replaces the familiar identity test of the slipper while accomplishing the goal of allowing the heroine to be recognized. What essential elements of the plot (such as a test of identity) are accomplished, even if in a quite different way?