Five Plot Points and Five Story Balancers

This blog provides information to authors who write fiction.

Action and movement create the plot that keeps fans reading. Without plot, the reader quickly finds the story boring and puts the book aside. The character of our story shows the action that is needed to continue motivation, conflict, change and resolution. These five important steps make the story move along.

A story needs balance to keep it interesting. The items that provide balance make another five item list. They are action, dialogue, description, inner monologue and exposition/narrative. Each one spreads balance throughout the story, and each one is important. They are the building blocks of a story.

Action defines what your characters are doing. The protagonist will move towards her goal and fail several times before reaching the goal or failing completely.

Dialogue tells us what the characters are saying, and it helps move the story along.

Description tells us what the characters are seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling.

Inner dialogue tells us what a character is thinking. Unlike most other art forms, prose gets us into the minds of the characters.

Exposition/narrative gives us what other information the narrator (writer) wants us to know. It is a source of telling, not showing, and needs to be used sparingly. Backstory is the most common result of exposition/narrative. A character’s history and background come from backstory. In short stories, however, space is limited.  That’s why showing a character’s qualities is better than telling them in backstory.

The five character needs and five areas for plot movement come together to create a three-act structure. Basic play structure is the three-act format. It also works for movies, novels and short stories.

In the first act, the protagonist is confronted with a challenge. In act two, he tries to solve the problem and fails several times. The author increases the problem to keep the story interesting.

Finally, in act three, the protagonist succeeds or fails, depending on the whim of the writer. Whatever the result, the audience must know it’s the resolution the whole story has been leading to.

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