How to Write Story Plot? Tips, Tricks & Types of Story Plot.

How to Write Story Plot?

The series of interconnected events that make up a novel’s narrative is known as the plot. A fictional storyline typically culminates in a climax and a resolution at the conclusion of the narrative. Of course, one of the foundations of good storytelling is the writing of the story plot. Some claim that the plot is the what of the story if characters are the who and the theme is the why.

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It is not a string of unrelated events. Usually, the narrative elements and the events must be connected in a cause-and-effect manner. According to E.M. Forster, the fact that the king and queen both passed away is not part of a plot. But the fact that the queen passed away after the king died is one because it illustrates a causality in the sequence of scenes.

How to Write a Fulfilling Plot?

There are six elements necessary for a successful plot:

Exposition
Inciting Incident
Rising Action or Progressive Complications
Dilemma
Climax
Denouement

These are the main plot points in a story, and they are necessary for all forms of creative writing, including novels, screenplays, memoirs, short stories, and other genres. Because they are what give stories movement, tension, and action, even accomplished authors who do not consciously use them do so subliminally in their work.

- Exposition

Characters and the setting are introduced in the exposition at the start of the story. This is where you show your readers what “normal” is for your characters even though this is not where all of your world-building takes place. When we get to the next level, readers will understand what’s wrong because of this.

- Inciting Incident

An occurrence that throws the main character into a difficult situation, upends the status quo, and starts the story’s movement—either in a positive or bad direction—is known as the inciting incident. The climax and denouement mark the conclusion of this movement.

- Rising Action or Progressive Complications

The most of the conflict occurs in this section of the story, which is also its lengthiest. You know that proverb that says to climb a tree and then throw rocks at your characters? It’s time to throw rocks. This is the point where the stakes are raised and the story’s climax is started to develop. It is essential that your readers are aware of the issues at hand and that they have a clear understanding of the conflict.

- Dilemma

The moment when a character is forced to make an impossible decision is the most crucial one, and it is what you have been building up to.

- Climax

The big moment is now! The resolution of the conflict is determined by the character’s decision in the dilemma. If you got it well, this will be the most tense—or least tense—moment in the entire story, making your readers uneasy.

- Denouement

At the conclusion of the novel, you’re setting up “normal” once more—but this time, it’s the new normal, taking into account the changes and experiences of your characters. Your readers can spend some time adjusting to your characters’ new normal with them, emotionally closing up the story so that they can put the book down without turning back to see what they missed. The scene closes with sufficient closure to merit the two words: The End.

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How to construct your characters according to the need of your story plot?

Now that you have the plot, you need to construct your characters according to the plot. Some pointers for creating a protagonist are as follows:

Give the main character weaknesses. Heroes and protagonists don’t have to be ideal human beings. In actuality, those heroes are frequently uninteresting. Great characters come from the struggles they go through, and credible characters have weaknesses like real people do.
Create an arc for the hero. A good character changes in some way during the course of the narrative. The character arc refers to this transition. You can also decide to develop a main character who stays the same, but that choice needs to be deliberate.

The following are some pointers for creating an antagonist:

Assign morality to the antagonist. Your protagonist should experience a crisis as a result of a villain’s goals. Every villain needs their own moral code, no matter how twisted. Give a villain realistic motivations if they kill off characters throughout the course of the story. Give the reader a clear understanding of the villain’s motivations for their atrocities by making those reasons specific to their background and upbringing.
Make the antagonist strong. The success of your primary character should not be perceived as being simple by readers. Your antagonist must to be even more potent than your hero, not just comparable.

The following are some pointers for creating secondary characters:

Make sure they are complementary. The essential roles of secondary characters include helping the protagonist with different skill sets, acting as a sounding board or source of emotional support, falling into difficulty so that the protagonist can rescue them, and even providing comic relief.
Make them the opposite. The best literary sidekicks are often oppositional and actively work to bring down the main character. Imagine Dr. Watson criticising Sherlock Holmes for abusing drugs. Giving supporting characters contrasting viewpoints enables you to examine your topics, locations, and morally ambiguous situations from a greater range of angles, maintaining complexity and retaining the reader’s interest.