Story arc what is

While the plot is comprised of the individual events that make up your story, your story arc is the sequence of those events. Imagine every scene of your novel summarized on notecards: the entire stack of cards is your plot, but the order in which you lay them out is your story arc.

Thinking about your arc is essential around this point. What if your Scene 1 notecard actually belongs in the denouement? What if you have too many scenes based on internal conflict in a row leaving the external conflict to wither? Carefully ordering your plot into a cohesive story arc helps readers navigate your story, and sets expectations that you can either satisfy or disrupt. If the plot is the skeleton of your story, the narrative arc is the spine.

The narrative arc is to the story what the character arc is to a character. It involves the plot on a grand scale, and a character arc charts the inner journey of a character over the course of the plot. Another straightforward distinction: while the story arc is external, the character arc is internal, and each main and sometimes secondary character will go through an individual arc. Still, narrative and character arcs are part of a symbiotic relationship. Each plot point in the story arc should bring your characters closer to, or further from, their goals and desires.

Learn about what defines a dynamic character in this piece. So, remember what we said about the three acts that make up a story arc? If you try to visualize the progression of action in your mind, you may see something that builds up and falls as so:. One that's set upon a roller coaster, for your viewing pleasure. He put forward the idea that every arc goes through five dramatic stages: exposition, rising action , climax, falling action, and resolution.

Feel free to use the diagram above as a reference as you follow along, or skip to your preferred stage below. The de-facto introduction to your book, the exposition is Act One of the story arc. The size of the exposition depends on your book.

The Count of Monte Cristo takes many thousands of words to set the stage, while P. Wodehouse wastes no time galloping past the exposition. Here's a post on chapter length if you'd like to learn more about pacing your work. You must balance action and information if you want them to continue flipping the pages.

Whatever the circumstances, the key trigger is the event that rolls the dice and causes a series of events to escalate, setting the rest of the story in motion. How your characters respond to the changing situations in this stage will speak volumes about them. A good climax will build upon everything earlier — the storylines, motives, character arcs — and package it all together.

On the flip side, a bad climax is the easiest way for a reader to feel cheated and chuck your book at the wall. So the climax is one of the most important parts of your story arc.

What next? But we need to see Harry wake up in the Infirmary and chat it out with Dumbledore; to feel satisfied, we need to see Dumbledore award Neville Longbottom the 10 House points that win Gryffindor the House Cup. Think of this stage as the bridge between the climax and the resolution. And after all that? Your email address will not be published. Close Menu Start Login. Start your Novel. How do you create novel arcs that satisfy?

Try these steps: 1. Rags to Riches [a complete rise] 2. Riches to Rags [a fall] 3. Man in a Hole [fall then rise] 4. Icarus [rise then fall] 5. Cinderella [rise then fall then rise] 6. Related Posts: What is motif in literature? Using repetition creatively What makes a plot intriguing? Tags novel structure , story arc.

Good luck with your school assignment. Hi Piotr, I would say it is possible, certainly. Keep going! No problem at all, Piotr. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Mark Flanagan. Literature Expert. Mark Flanagan is a book reviewer and writer with over 15 years of experience. He's also the founder of Run Spot Run, a website dedicated to reviewing contemporary literature. Updated August 08, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Flanagan, Mark. How a Narrative Arc Structures a Story.

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