It’s what happens in a story.

What is plot? Plot is the series of related events that make

up a story. Most plots are built from four elements:

- introduction/exposition- complications

- climax- resolution

Elements of PlotThe introduction, or exposition, tells us who the

characters are and what their conflict is.

Introduction

Complications occur as the characters take steps to deal with the conflict.

Complications

The climax is the most exciting moment of the story, when the outcome must be decided one way or another.

Climax

The resolution is the final part of the story, where the conflict is resolved.

Resolution

ConflictConflict is a struggle between two opposing characters or opposing forces.

Conflict is……the driving force of a story’s plot…the problem that the characters must solve or

overcome…the basis for a story’s theme

Conflict gives a story its energy and makes it interesting.

Two Types of Conflictexternal

internal

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In an external conflict, a character struggles with an outside force. This force may be…… another character… society as a whole, or a large group of people… a natural force, such as a harsh landscape or severe

weather conditions

Stanley was still digging. . . . The sun had only just come up over the horizon, but he already could feel its hot rays against his face. As he reached down to pick up his canteen, he felt a sudden rush of dizziness and put his hands on his knees to steady himself. For a moment he was afraid he would throw up, but the moment passed. He drank the last drop of water from his canteen. He had blisters on every one of his fingers, and one in the center of each palm.

from Holes by Louis Sachar

From Holes by Louis Sachar. Copyright © 1998 by Louis Sachar. Reproduced by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.

An internal conflict takes place within a character’s own mind. The character struggles against his or her own opposing needs, desires or emotions.

He tried not to think about Zero. It was too late. Either he’d made it to Big Thumb, or . . . What worried him most however, wasn’t that it was too late. What worried him most, what really ate at his insides, was the fear that it wasn’t too late. What if Zero was still alive, desperately crawling across the dirt searching for water? He tried to force the image out of his mind.

from Holes by Louis SacharFrom Holes by Louis Sachar. Copyright © 1998 by Louis Sachar. Reproduced by permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.