Plot: A Main Ingredient for a Well Made Story
Some so-called experts insist that a story doesn't require a
plot. However, whether found in a short story or a novel, a
story requires a plot, otherwise the "story" is like bread
without yeast - flat. A writing without a plot may be a
narrative, a scene, or perhaps a descriptive essay, but anything
without a plot doesn't "make" a story.
According to Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story?,
"A plot is a causal sequence of events, the 'why' for the things
that happen in the story." The elements of plot include
1. Exposition, the information needed to understand a
story;
2. Complication, the catalyst that begins the major
conflict;
3. Climax, the turning point in the story when the
complication is resolved, or attempted to be solved;
4. Resolution, the events that bring the story to a close.
The plot structure may vary depending on what is needed for the
story to evolve, but the plot involves the reader into the lives
of the characters and helps the reader understand the choices
made.
In a news release for her Athens, New York workshop, author and
artist Jeanne Heilberg stated, "Everyone loves a good story and
strong plot helps move it along and maintain reader interest."
She noted that plot is important and that writers who know how
to articulate plot have an advantage over those who don't.
We see the need for a plot and what plot is. Let's look at how
to develop a good plot and add the leavening required for a
light and tasty loaf, rather story.
Literary classics from ages past used long paragraphs with
detailed expository and character descriptions. These writings
told readers what happened and are not accepted by today's
readers. The pages of "telling" bore readers. Betty Wilson
Beamguard, The Writer, says that activity advances and
enhances plot.
"Remember the adage, 'Actions speak louder than words'? It is
true in writing as well as in life," she writes in the September
2005 issue. Ms. Beamguard's article mainly discusses the
development of character, but everything applies to plot because
plot involves the reader into the lives of the characters and
their choices. Therefore, character development is directly
connected to plot. Character movement and dialogue advance the
plot without the writer boring the reader.
Allowing our characters to tell the story creates an enhanced
plot. Having a character tell the story doesn't mean that it is
written in first person, but that the reader watches the story
unfold from the character's point of view. Jessie Gunn Stephens
writes in "Brainstorming Plot from Character" that all we have
to do is choose the character and let her tell her story.
Perhaps the better wording would be to let the character show us
her story.
By writing and including a well-developed plot, we have a story
that isn't flat.
Sources:
1. Literature: What Makes a Good Short Story?
http://www.learner.org
2. Jessie Gunn Stephens,ByLine, October 1998
3. Betty Wilson Beamguard, The Writer, September 2005