Breaking Plot into a Five Course Dinner (For Writers)

Has the subject of story plot ever made your head ache? Was trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together causing you to question your entire story idea? Well, you’re not alone! Plot is the concrete foundation of a good story but at times it can be confusing. Today I am going to give you the basic plot structure in an easy ‘digestible’ form, and I am going to leave you with resources to help you learn more! So let’s dive in.

The plot of your story is what ties everything together. The character did this because that happened. The character has to do this because this needs to happen. So instead of it just being a string of random scenes with some awesome characters, it’s a series of events building up the characters to a final, breath-taking, ending. I am going to be taking the simple six section plot for this lesson (sometimes called Freytag’s Pyramid). Which means I’ll be focusing on: Exposition (set up), Inciting Incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling action, and Resolution. If those words sound confusing then don’t worry, we're about to break it down. First let me introduce you to another structure. One you may be more familiar with.

The five course dinner. If you’ve ever experienced fine dining you may have had a meal that went like this: Hor d’oeuvre. Soup or salad. Appetizer. Main Entree. And dessert. And for the benefit of our story structure. Leftovers.

Now it may seem like it just gave you two very different structures: one is for a story and one is for food, after all. So now let’s see exactly how they are so much alike!

We’re starting our fine dining and story off with the most essential key.

1. Hor d’oeuvre and Exposition (set up). 

The Hor d’oevre may have confused you for a moment, but that is a very fancy way of describing the small bite of food guests get when they first arrive for their meal. This is usually a very simple thing, such as savory cheese puffs, it welcomes guests to the table and invites them to get excited about their meal ahead. 

The Exposition (set up) in a story does the exact same thing! You’re introducing your readers to the characters and the world you want them to fall in love with. You’re showing them what the world looks like and why they should care about these people. You’re asking yourself the question: Why should I look forward to the rest of the story? Why should I want to follow this character?

2. Next we have our Soup or salad and our Inciting Incident.

 Now you’re getting to the real food! A soup or salad is designed to start the palate (the taste of the meal) this is when things are set into motion. This is the part where your stomach can stop growling, and you start to lean forward because the food just got interesting.

The Inciting incident is just like the start to your meal. Something has just happened to shake your character's world. The alien a boy was dreaming about launched an attack. The cake a girl promised she would watch just got burnt in the oven. This is the moment you catch your readers attention. This is the moment you ask: What are they going to do now? Their world is falling apart!

3. Then the Appetizer and Rising Action come in. 

The Appetizer is designed to prepare you for the main dish. It is a slightly heavier dish that is getting you ready to eat a lot more food. When you finish here you know what’s coming next and you’re ready for it!

The Rising action is just like the appetizer. It’s preparing you for the big moment, it’s preparing you for that tense scene that either means the hero is going to win…or fail. So give your readers enough tension to drag them on and enough information to prepare them for the big moment. Ask yourself the questions. How does the character face their enemy? How do they get there? This is the part where after the alien attack the boy must venture to find the general of the army, not knowing if he will believe him or not—it’s his journey to get there and the trials he faces along the way. It’s that cake in the oven that burned and that girl who has to make sure her mom’s surprise part isn’t ruined—it’s her journey around the town to find the ingredients and what she learns along the way.

4. You’re here, you made it! It’s time for the Main Entree and Climax. 

It’s time to push out the meat and potatoes, to dish up the sides and dig in. It’s the Main entree. Everything you prepared for comes down to this moment. You get to enjoy the main dish because you took the time to eat the other things.

The climax is very similar in the fact that this is what your story was building up towards. This is when your character faces their enemy. Rather that is a physical person, nature, or themselves. This is the point it boils down to. There are two questions to ask here. Who wins? And what do they learn? This is when your character puts into practice everything they learned during the rising action, this is when they stand up and say “I’m either winning or I’m losing and this is where we decided it.”

5. Now it’s over, the climax has come and gone. The main dish has been eaten. But you’re not through yet! It’s time for the Dessert and Falling Action. 

The Dessert is a sweet conclusion to the meal, you had your savory and now you’re getting your sweets! It rounds everything off and leaves you satisfied to go home. 

The Falling action is what happens directly after the climax. How did your hero survive? Did they survive? What about the villain? Were they defeated or did they get away? Was a peace treaty made with the aliens? Was the girl’s mom surprised about the cake and the show of support? This is when you start to gather the loose ends of your story and tie them up. Ask yourself the questions: What happens now? How do they recover? How do they celebrate? How do they move forward?

6. Finally the very last extra addition Leftovers and the Resolution. 

You had all that delicious food, but now you want to save it and pack it away. It’s your Leftovers—Pulling things from each course so you can have them again later and remember how great this meal was!

Your Resolution is where you are going to show the readers how it ended and what the character’s world now looks like. How are things with the villain gone? How are things with a happy ending? Show what the character has learned by showing what they are going to do next. This is the final step to leave a lasting impression on your readers. They’ve followed you this far and now they want a satisfying ending. How can justice be served? What does the future look like? What is my character's next challenge? What can they teach others?

There you have it! A very simple plot shown alongside a familiar food course. One of the things to notice is that without the hor d’oeuvre, soups, and appetizers you wouldn’t be ready for the main entree! And without the beginning, inciting incident, and rising action, your readers won’t be ready for the climax. If you place these parts into your stories you can build a strong structure!

I just barely touched on these key parts, but I hope you have a better grasp of them now. I encourage you to dive into the subject more! Whether you like to plan your stories or not it’s vital to have a grasp of these concepts. You can learn about a more indepth plot structure with K.M. Weiland here: https://www.storyplanner.com/story/plan/structuring-your-novel-k-m-weiland-story-structure

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/secrets-story-structure-complete-series/

Also a helpful youtube video to check out is by Abbie Emmons: https://youtu.be/DziLVZJ3-8k?si=zsoYM4DfzCw-kieI

 Now spread your plot crafting wings and fly! 

With Faith, Hope, Love, and Feathers,

Inertia.