An overview of plot for a college Intro to Lit class, with running bonus point questions and examples from recent film and fiction.

1. How will IT ALL end?
An introduction to Plot

2. This lecture and the
React & Reflect Essay
In our first essay, you pick a piece from weeks 1-4 and
link your reactions to its plot, narration, point of view
or characters. You can choose the piece first and pair
it with an element, or choose an element you feel you
understand well and pick a suitable piece.
Fiction and plot go together well. As you read this
lecture think about plots in the stories we’ve read so
far. Maybe your essay will start to form.
Poems aren’t usually plotted, but it can be argued
that some longer ones do have a sort of plot, or at
least parts of a plot. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” for
example or Elizabeth Acevedos “Rat Ode.” Think
about it. I appreciate adventurous essays.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 2

3. What’s going to happen?! Plot –
the backbone of story telling.
Spoiler alert, for the 14 people in the world who have not seen Titanic lol
A good story entertains and engages. We journey with characters
who may be very different from us, may not even be human.
What keeps us going is curiosity about what’s going to happen.
With the curiosity may also come tension or even fear, but it’s a
pleasant kind of tension and a thrilling fear. “Don’t trust Scar!” we
yell to Simba. We feel every blow with Rocky and hope that
T'Challa somehow survived falling off that cliff. We argue with
friends about who will sit on the iron throne (not Bran Stark, omg,
come on!…oops sorry. I digress).
Plot and character together keep us watching to many bittersweet
endings. Even though we know the Titanic WILL SINK every time
we watch the movie, we’re riveted as two characters we care
about lean over the rail looking down into the face of. . . .
Or maybe, just this one time, maybe THE SHIP WON’T SINK. But it
does. BUT the plot goes on, because the heart goes on. We want
to know what happens to these two lovers, all the way to the end.
Good plot!
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 3

4. Main Bonus
Point Opp:
Plot Analysis
For 20-25 Bonus Points, analyze plot in
a film, TV series or novel you know well
(or just watched/read). To do that,
answer the 5 questions in purple spread
over this lecture, and cover anything
else you feel is important or interesting.
Send your answers in by email. 20
points any time. 25 points if same week
this lecture is posted (end of the day
Sunday)
When turning in Bonus Point
opportunities, tell me what you’re
sending. I offer many and it helps to
know what I’m looking at. For example,
Below (or attached) is my plot analysis
of the Netflix series “Away” as described
in the plot lecture.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 4

5. Something’s going to happen
any minute now!
Do you like films in which a
clock counts down to
disaster, as in Independence
Day? If so, you like your
fiction with a strong plot.
There’s a deadline, an
ultimatum, a ticking bomb, a
rush to overcome obstacles
by the time X happens. In
Independence Day, X is just
the annihilation of the whole
human race. No pressure.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L
A good plot builds suspense and keeps us
watching, listening or reading. Ever read a
book so good you don’t want to stop to
eat? Miss your exit because the audio
book has reached the climax of the plot?
Yelped when someone ran in and
interrupted the movie?
5

6. “In which we
learn…”
These are the opening words of Neil
Gaiman’s novel Stardust, which was
made into a film of the same title. It
then states a (fantasy) fact designed to
spark our curiosity:
“Chapter One, in which we learn of
the village of Wall and of the
curious thing that occurs there
every nine years.”
Well what happens every nine years?
How soon is year nine? The plot is a
train and it’s leaving the station. Have
we hopped on or not?
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 6

7. Plot
moves
the story
forward
 Exposition – We meet the characters, their situations, and
usually a time and place. Usually but not always at the start.
Might be in a flashback. Plants the seeds of a coming
conflict.
 Foreshadowing – At any time before the climax, hints are
given about what is to come. In Deadpool 2, the hero
comments on the heavy-handed foreshadow.
 Inciting incident – Something, or someone, happens and the
characters’ situation is knocked off balance. They run to or
from something. They’re motivated.
 Rising action – As the characters move, conflicts and
problems build tension and reveal who they really are. As
we know people better, we care more, leading to more
suspense.
 Climax – Moment of most suspense, tension, danger. The
turning point. All may be lost. Or not. We hope not (if we
care about the characters).
 Falling action – Questions resolved after the climax. The
cool down time, the big wedding. Usually short.
 Conclusion or Resolution – We see the characters in their
new situation, sometimes a reversal of their starting
situation. Can you think of a film that ends with a reversed
situation? Send me title, plot summary and your critique of
the ending for 10 Bonus Points.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 7

8. Exposition
Exposition should give readers/viewers enough information to know what’s going on but
not so much that the going never gets going! In “All Summer in a Day” Bradbury doesn’t
explain why people live on Venus. That’s a “whole ‘nother story” as a storyteller might say.
It’s history that might slow down the plot. A novel would have space for more background,
after we become interested in the main characters. All we really need to know is “the
characters, their situations, and, usually, a time and place” (52)*. For “All Summer in a Day”
the time is RIGHT BEFORE THE SUN SHINES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVEN YEARS! Bradbury
might say that’s all we really need to know.
Pieces set in distant or imaginary places need more exposition. In Black Panther, for
example, we need basic info about Vibranium and how all that amazing tech works. Luckily,
T'Challa's sister Shuri likes explaining the science behind her inventions. Notice the bit of
exposition/explaining about the suit and kinetic energy slipped into this action scene.
In some movies a voice-over may tell us what we need, or one character will reminisce to
another. Or the information might just scroll by in weird text across the dark sky of space,
Star Wars style. Long ago in a Galaxy far far away . . .
More exposition may be needed mid-story. The 2017 film Get Out gives this brilliantly by
way of a sales video made by the group holding the main character prisoner. In it we find
out, as he does, the cruel details of what they intend to do. That the video is for
“customers” of the vile process makes it more plausibly detailed. And creepy.
Main Bonus Points Analysis: 1) Where and how does the
film, series or book you’re thinking of fit in needed
background info about the characters, their situations and
the time and place? Did it work for you? Too much info, too
little?
*All page numbers are in our textbook unless indicated otherwise.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 8

9. Strong foreshadowing in Get Out
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 9
In the 2017 film Get Out, even the title
foreshadows something bad. And yet we watch.
The main character’s best friend strongly warns
him not to go to his girlfriend’s house in the
country. And yet he goes.
Someone there says right to him “Get out!” And
yet he stays.
The disturbing details pile up until he realizes
he Has. To. Get. Out. Now. And it’s too late. That’s
the horror part.
“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run
by on their way to incredible destinations.”
― Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

10. Inciting
incident
Nearly every story (not to mention
every bad day) has one, an incident
that gets the action going (incites it):
The day for the sun to come out for
the first time in years approaches; an
unwelcome house guest arrives; news
comes that a spouse has died; a long-
lost sibling is arrested; a man with a
pathological grudge finds the
opportunity to act.
Main Bonus Points Analysis: 2) What’s the inciting
incident in your piece? None, two?
Interesting….explain.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 10

11. Rising
Action
Suspense rises as characters try to overcome Obstacles and
work out internal and external Conflicts.
To use Independence Day again, the Jeff Goldblum character,
David Levinson, discovers the timer counting down to an alien
invasion. He's in New York. He must get to The President in D.C.
to warn him.
But he doesn’t know how to drive (obstacle). He fights the chaos
to find his father, who does know how to drive, and they head
for D.C.
But everyone is leaving D.C. so . . . traffic (obstacle). And his dad
drives so slow (obstacle). But they get there at last. They pull up
in front of the Whitehouse and David rigs up a Satellite phone to
call his ex-wife. Oh did we mention…little obstacle here: David’s
ex-wife a) has been refusing to speak to him, and b) happens to
be the chief of staff to The President.
Yes, OBSTACLE. She’s won’t talk to him or let him through to the
president.
M e a n w h i l e . . . the clock is ticking down to the alien
invasion.
Main Bonus Points Analysis: 3) What obstacles &
conflicts build tension in your piece? Is there
enough, or do you feel more was needed to hold
your interest and build suspense? What might have
been added?
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 11

12. Climax
The climax is when suspense and tension are highest.
It’s that moment when you do not go for popcorn. In
Titanic, the action climaxes when the ship is about to
go down. Will they make it?! Perhaps the emotional
climax is the moving scene in the water when Jack
sacrifices himself for love. (I still think two could have
for on the piece of wood.)
Climax is in the eye of the beholder. In the hands of a
skilled storyteller though most of the audience
should be on the edge of their seats at about the
same time.
Main Bonus Points Analysis: 4) What would you say
is the climax of your piece? If that’s hard to answer,
maybe the piece you picked just doesn’t have a
strong plot. Some very good movies are not heavily
plotted (The Tree of Life is a good example and
Before Sunset).
Here’s one list of heavily plotted movies.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 12

13. Resolution
• After the climax, tension drops.
There’s relief, humor, joy, peace. The
writer might let us know where
everyone is or where they’re going
next. In Independence Day, we see the
scientist and his ex get back together.
In Get Out, the friend who warned the
main character not to go to the
country gets to say “I told you so.” And
in Titanic we see literal snapshots of
the good life the surviving half of the
couple lived after the disaster.
• This after-climax time is sometimes
also called the Denouement – French
for untying the knot (the knot of the
plot that is). Whatever we call it, it’s a
satisfying part of the plot.
• LMK a film you feel has a great
resolution section for 10 BP’s. Here’s
one I love, from My Spy. It amusingly
alludes to action-thriller endings, while
also being one. Great comedy.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L
Main Bonus Points Analysis: 5 & last) How long is
the resolution part of your film/novel? Did you
find it satisfying? Are all the lose ends tied up, or
are some questions left hanging?
SPOILER ALERT. Danger over, planet saved, cigars lit, divorce papers torn
up! Independence Day has a long, happy resolution as several plot lines
conclude. We see the alien ships taken down by nations around the world,
the science-guy Jeff Goldbloom character is re-united with his estranged
wife (saving the planet will do that), and the Will Smith character is
thanked by the president.

14. Those Twisted
Plots
Wait, what, he killed Lila?
How to Get Away with Murder fans were
rocked by the ending of season 2.
Flashbacks supplied the missing puzzle
pieces that made it all come together. Er,
sort of.
The Statue of Liberty showing up at the
end of Planet of the Apes is a famous, if
dated, example of a plot twist. Spoiler
alert: They thought they were on another
planet run by apes when really they were
on a future earth. Run by apes.
In the Forum we may discuss plot twists
that worked well and others that felt
contrived. Where do you stand on the
ending of The Sixth Sense?
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 14

15. TMU
(The
Marvel
Universe)
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 15
In superhero stories, characters
overcome tremendous inner and
outer obstacles as they strive to meet
their goals, escape their doubts, face
their inner demons and enemies to
achieve their destiny.
For up to 10 Bonus Points, send an
email about a fictional character who
inspires you. What obstacles and
conflicts do they overcome? What
does their journey reveal about their
character, and about human (or
superhuman) nature? How are you
like this character?

16. A
Thought
about
Plot
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 16
Some writers say plot is an over-
rated, artificial way to think about a
story. Stephen King explains that he
doesn’t plan out plots. He just puts
someone in a situation and keeps
writing to see what happens.
Life has put all of us in situations
from time to time, maybe even from
the start. Story telling was first born –
and lives on through every new
media that comes along – because it
lets us reflect on all that happens to
us, and all that we make happen as
we reach for our goals and dreams.

17. Plot
Questions to
help with a
React &
Reflect Essay
 Did this piece make you wonder How will this turn out? Did
you feel curious, tense? Then it’s a good piece to pair with
plot.
 How well did the piece fit in any needed exposition? Too
much info and background, too little?
 Is there not much action but still some type of suspense for
you? Great. Explain that.
 Are events told in the order they happened, or jumbled? Do
they start in the middle? How did that affect your
experience?
 What part / moment felt like the climax to you? Anything
foreshadow that?
 Is there lots of action but no real suspense? Weak plot? Feel
free to be a critic. Sometimes an oppositional, sort of
grouchy stance makes writing easier.
 What obstacles did the main character overcome?
 Are obstacles & conflicts more internal (as in “Cathedral,”) or
external (as in “The Veldt”). Do characters battle with
themselves or with an outside force? A mix? Break it down in
your essay.
 What scenes and quotes from the piece really show the
moving parts of the plot?
 Does “Rat Ode” or another poem we’ve studied have a kind
of plot? Did it hold your interest not just with the language
and force of the delivery, but with what’s happening? If so,
could be a good essay. I like risk-taking writers.
Also see “Questions about Plot” on page 55-56.
You could structure your essay on those questions.
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 17

18. Plot
Questions
to help with
a Compare
& Contrast
Essay
(essay #2)
 How plotted is each piece? What type of plot is
each (p. 55)?
 Which plot did you enjoy more? Why?
 Does each piece include obstacles & conflicts that
force characters to make choices and change?
Which one does that more?
 How well do the authors fit in needed exposition?
 Does one rely on flashbacks more than the other?
 Are the obstacles mainly inner or outer
(psychological or social)?
 How exciting is each climax? Which one works
better for you?
 What foreshadowed the climax? (Re-reading will
help you see the hints that point to the climax.)
 Do both pieces have a resolution section?
 Would one piece be better if it had a plot more
like the other piece, in your opinion?
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L 18

19. Movie Night soon? - Earn Bonus Points
Introduction to Plot. ENGL 151L
Use this graph or the one on page 51 to chart the plot of a film right after you see it. Just
write a few words about what happens in each section. Or put your analysis into a
paragraph or two. Feel free to adapt the graphic. Your film may have much less or more
rising action, for example, or have a long flashback that has its own parallel plot. Have fun
with it.
10-20 Bonus Points. For the full 20 include a critique: How well did the plot work? Any
implausible plot twists, boring data dumps, confusing flashbacks, jerky pace, disappointing
or unbelievable climax? Your work and thinking on this Bonus Opp could go into extending
essay 1 or 2, if you can see ways to connect this movie with your essay piece(s).
19