Welcome back. We ended the first part looking at all the parts that make up the plot structure of a story and now we need to look a little deeper into those:

Exposition – you describe the setting, where you were, who was with you, what it was like; this is where the characters are introduced too.

Inciting Event – an event that happens to turn the story, to make a normal situation into something not normal.

Stakes – you might be seen or caught; your integrity and visibility are at stake.

Rising Action – time to get out of what happened. This encompasses the goal of the plot. A conflict or a whole series of conflicts arise as you try to get to the plot goal. Something goes wrong, everything you try fails, your readers really want to know what’s going to happen next.

The Climax – just in time, it all got figured out, despite all the craziness. This is the Battle Royal, the end conflict. The peak of the story where you banish the enemy and solve the problem.

Falling Action – this is where you wrap it all up, explain anything that was missing, how it went and the feelings that went through your characters.

Resolution – everything has calmed down; the day was saved and you went on to enjoy yourself anyway.

So, think about this. If you were reading a story that lacked a basic plot structure or had bits missing from it, would you enjoy it? Would you carry on reading it? The answer to that is probably not. You wouldn’t be able to make sense of the plot for a start and that’s the whole point of a story. So what could be missing?
The Setting – miss this out and nobody will know who the characters are and where they are

The Rising Action – that eliminates any excitement or tension from your story.

The Climax – no-one will know how the characters got out of the mess! First, they were in it and then all of a sudden, they were out with no explanation.

The Falling Action – you have to tell your readers how it all worked out, you can't just leave them hanging!

The Resolution – without this, everything comes to a sudden halt. No-one will know if it all turned out OK or not.

There you have it. A basic plot structure is a backbone, the ribs and the flesh of your story. If you miss any part of it out you really don’t have much of a plot and your story is going to fall flat on its face. So, if you are taking the NaNoWriMo challenge and you do get stuck, or if you run into a brick wall whenever you are writing, stop. Think about it. Something must be missing and, nine times out of ten, it is going to be your journey or goal, occasionally it will be an incident and sometimes your story will be missing conflict, in any format. Read it or get someone else to read it for you – they’ll soon tell you if it gels or not!