1. Narrative

2. What’s A Narrative?
A NARRATIVE is a story, told in many ways: a short story, a book, spoken word, a movie, even a video game.
A narrative is based around a basic structure composed of several stages.
The basic narrative structure can also be thought of as a PLOT MOUNTAIN — but we’ll get to that in just a bit!

3. The Parts Of A Narrative: Setting
The most important part of telling a story is to establish the SETTING, also known as the ordinary world, where the story takes place.
A setting is where the story takes place, not just physically, but in time — season? year? century?
What’s daily life like there/then? How does that impact the characters?

4. The Parts Of A Narrative: Conflict
A story isn’t a story without a CONFLICT, something to push the action forward and draw the main character out of their boring, ordinary world.
A conflict is a problem to be solved, caused either by a person or a set of circumstances.
The conflict will build over the course of the story, until it is resolved at the end.
What are some examples in books or movies that you’ve seen/read?

5. The Parts Of A Narrative: Rising Actions/Complications
A conflict doesn’t get solved right away — there are often COMPLICATIONS that start causing the action to rise.
What gets in the way of the hero automatically solving the conflict?
In A Wrinkle In Time, Charles Wallace being taken over by IT could be seen as a complication, or part of the rising action.

6. The Start of a Plot Mountain
Putting in the elements we have so far, we can start to chart the course of the action of the story so it looks like a mountain.
RISING ACTION
Setting
Conflict
Complication
Complication

7. The Parts Of A Narrative: Climax
Eventually, the rising action builds to the highest point, the most exciting part of the story: THE CLIMAX.
This is often a final battle in an action story, or a man declaring his love during a rainstorm in a romance story, or, like in Star Wars, when they escape the Death Star with Princess Leia.

8. The Parts Of A Narrative: Falling Action/Resolution
After the climax, the story starts to wind up — this is the FALLING ACTION.
The conflict is RESOLVED, and there is a point of resolution. Everyone lives happily ever after!
In The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta have won by beating the system, and go back to District 12.
In The Avengers, Loki is captured, and all the Avengers go back to working on their own.

9. The Other Side of the Plot Mountain
Putting in the new elements, we can see the decline of the plot mountain.
Climax
RISING ACTION
FALLING ACTION
Setting
Conflict
Resolution
Complications