Independent Reading/Book Bistro

January 28, 2005

Mrs. Gann

 

 

SETTING:  The total environment for the action of a fictional work. Setting includes time period, the physical place, and the historical context.  Setting could also include an emotional or spiritual state of mind for a character.  The setting is usually established primarily through description, though narration is used also.

 

PLOT (also called CONFLICT):  is the struggle found in fiction. Conflict/Plot may be internal or external, meaning that it may be happening in real-time or it may be in a character’s mind.  There are three main types of conflict:

          (1) Man in conflict with another Man

          (2) Man in conflict in Nature

          (3) Man in conflict with Self.

 

The plot line of a novel or short story usually looks like this:

 

Exposition                    Rising Action      Climax               Falling Action             Denouement

 

Exposition:            the opening “grab” of a book.

Rising Action:        when things really get cooking.

Climax:                  the point of most tension, stress, or conflict in a story.

Falling Action:       when things start to unwind or wrap up.

Denouement:         the “last call” of a story.

 

**When completing your Story Map this week, pay special attention to setting and plot.  Get grounded in WHAT is happening to your characters and WHERE they are when it happens.**

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