Writing Tips: What is a Plot?

As someone who has only recently began to dig deeper in to the realm of writing, I thought it would be interesting to learn more about the basics of writing.  For the purpose of this blog post, let's talk about the Plot.

Merriam-Webster defines a plot as: "the plan or the main story."

Wikipedia has this to say about a plot: "the events that make up a theme, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence."

One of my favorite people on the web, Nathan Bransford writes this about a plot: [the] "plot is a premise plus a major complication that tests the protagonist. It's what opens the door plus what's keeping the door from being closed."

For today's plot post, we'll focus on the Wikipedia's definition.  We'll get into Nathan's plot tips in a later post (trust me, the wait is worth it!) .

We all vaguely remember grade school English classes where we learned about the basic plot outline, right?  Okay, admittedly, it's been a long time since I've even seen one of those things, so I've found a sample online for us all to look at.

10 points for anyone that remembers what this diagram is actually called...Give up?  I only remember because I've just looked it up (ha!).  The diagram is called "Freytag's Pyramid", now the lights are flashing on - because for me, after reading the name, it totally clicked and brought back memories of reading through Middle Grade books and picking out the "rising action" the "climax" and the "falling action".  None of which I EVER enjoyed doing.  Maybe that's why I'm a pantser now.

Anyway, getting back to the plot.  So, if you follow Freytag's Pyramid, you begin your novel with the exposition.

The exposition introduces all of the main characters in the story. It shows how they relate to one another, what their goals and motivations are, and the kind of person they are.  Most importantly, in the exposition, the audience gets to know the main character (protagonist), and the protagonist gets to know his or her main goal and what is at stake if he or she fails to attain this goal.

The next phase would be the rising action, or conflict.  Generally, in this phase the protagonist understands his or her goal and begins to work toward it. Smaller problems thwart their initial success, and in this phase their progress is directed primarily against these secondary obstacles. This phase shows us how he or she overcomes these obstacles.

Thus, at the end of this phase and at the beginning of the next they are finally in a position to go up against their primary goal. This part begins after the exposition. It consists of a beginnings of a tension or complication that continues with the development of conflict between the characters.

Ah the climax, the turning point of the story, where the main character makes the single big decision that defines the outcome of their story and who they are as a person.  The beginning of this phase is marked by the protagonist finally having cleared away the preliminary barriers and being ready to engage with the adversary. Usually, entering this phase, both the protagonist and the antagonist have a plan to win against the other. Now for the first time we see them going against one another in direct, or nearly direct, conflict.

This struggle results with neither character completely winning, nor losing, against the other. Usually, each character's plan is partially successful, and partially foiled by their adversary. What is unique about this central struggle between the two characters is that the protagonist makes a decision which shows us one's moral quality, and ultimately determines one's fate.

The climax often contains much of the action in a story, for example, a defining battle.

The falling action is where the loose ends are being tied up. However, it is often the time of greatest overall tension in the play, because it is the phase in which everything goes most wrong.

In this phase, the villain has the upper hand. It seems that evil will triumph. The protagonist has never been further from accomplishing the goal.

The resolution is the final confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist, where one or the other decisively wins. This phase is the story of that confrontation, of what leads up to it, of why it happens the way it happens, what it means, and what its long-term consequences are.

Okay, now that we know the technical definition of a plot, the next time we talk about it, we'll get into the fun part, digging into Nathan Bransford's plot topics!