I guess, I'll turn this into a series of me rambling in regard to some writing topics. Please don't mind my grammar, I write these things in the night, thoughts are a mumbo jumbo, writing is wonky. And I might miss some points, feel free to add. 

Plot! Plot! - Uh... ? 

Others: What is a plot? 

Me: What is a ? 

Well, there are many definitions. And I think if I go through them you’ll have a better understanding of it. This is my own unconventional way of explaining this and trying to make sense of plotting.

Main definition: the main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.

Other Definitions: a small piece of ground marked out for a purpose such as building or gardening: a vegetable plot; a graph showing the relation between two variables.

A story has three parts:

Beginning: 

- Exposition: Setting of the place, the time period, the background, etc. 

Middle: 

- Rising actions: All your subplots (sequences) leading to the (your main)

- : your main plot that created this story, that make you write this story in the first place. 

End: 

- Falling action: What events happen after the pinnacle point of your plot that would lead you to a definite resolution.

- The resolution: happy, sad, open-ended. 

The reason I gave you the other two definitions of a plot is because it gave a picture of what a plot (plan) is. You make a mark on a piece of land in order to build something up. So in your mind you have a scene, or something that inspire you to write, that is the mark. From there, you build up to a story by connecting sequences to show their relation to each other in order to have a coherent story. 

So at the beginning of planting a tree, or just any plant, you mark out some ground for a hole to put in the seed. That’s what you would do at the beginning of a story. You lay down the foundation of your story, where the story set, what time period, time of the day, your character appearance. From there you ease into the main problem. But you don’t get to the main problem yet, the rising actions are events that happen leading up to it, just like the tree you planted, it won’t grow unless you feed it water and sunshine. I like to think of these events as obstacles preventing me from getting to my main problem so I can solve it. Once you know where your is, you’ll be able to know immediately the falling actions and the resolution. 

In my opinion, writers should know the of their story before they start to write their story. I often read writers saying that they know the ending and had it written down when I think the focus should be on the . The is what make us writers having writer’s block before we end the story, because it is the satisfying point for readers. Think about the tree that you planted, you feel elated and satisfied each time it grow and when it grew to its highest point you suddenly feel triumphant, that you have accomplished something. The feeling should be the same for writers and both readers. If you know your , rising actions, falling actions and resolutions will come very easily. When you have the in mind, you will start to think of rising actions to get to that , and then when you pass the , you will know what to do with the falling actions and resolutions. 

Instead of thinking if this should be a happy, sad, or open-ended story, think about the of your story first. Use the of your story as the main outline point so you won’t stray too much from the storyline. Although, in writing sometimes you’ll stray unexpectedly, so don’t worry too much, just have fun trying to fix those unexpected events. Like Bob Ross said, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” 


I will tackle characterizations next. Even though I had written one already, I think I have some newer thoughts. Currently writing an introverted main character, it's gonna be fun. Well, I am an introvert myself, so things are going to be interesting lol. Putting a piece of myself in this story. 

Anyway, I hope this helps. I don't have examples, but if you google on plot diagram, you'll see one using the movie Cinderella, lol.