February 28, 2020-Contrary to the title of this post, I’m not talking about the movie with the same name, starring Bruce Willis. There are five elements to plot structure when writing, let’s talk about them.
- Exposition-This is the introduction of characters and setting to your story. You don’t have to explain everything in minute detail, in fact, it’s much better if you simply show us what the character’s normal is so that the reader can see when things start to go awry, which they will begin to, in the next step.
- Rising Action-This is my favourite part to write as an author. I LOVE torturing my characters by setting them up for problems. Sadistic? Maybe, but is there any other way? (Insert maniacal laugh here). Here’s the point in your story where you raise the stakes on your character and build to the climax. Be very clear as to what’s at stake so that your audience isn’t confused.
- Climax-This is the moment that matters most, the point at which everything before this has been building up like a volcano that ready to burst. Well, it’s time for the lava to hit the ground, which leads to the next point in your story.
- Falling Action-The lava (climax) is now dripping down the sides of the volcano and onto the ground. We take our readers with us, nice and slowly. We answer some questions that they’ve had up until this point and start to wind the story down.
- Resolution– This means that the conflict in your story has been resolved. Wrap it up with a bow for your reader, because there is nothing that makes them more disappointed and homicidal than the author leaving things unfinished with a ton of questions.
So, there you have it! The five elements of plot structure. Happy Writing! X LLB
