The Plot Mountain: Five Parts of a Story

Most stories follow a shape: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Many stories follow a shape that looks like a mountain. At the bottom is the exposition, where we meet the characters and setting. Next comes the rising action, a climb of events as a problem grows. At the peak is the climax, the most intense moment where things must change. Then the falling action brings us down as events settle, and the resolution shows how things end up. Here's a short example.

Exposition: Theo lives on a farm and loves his old dog, Biscuit. Rising action: a storm hits, and Biscuit goes missing; Theo searches the barn, the fields, and the creek. Climax: Theo hears barking from a flooded ditch and pulls Biscuit out. Falling action: they walk home, soaked. Resolution: Theo builds Biscuit a warm, dry doghouse.

• 1Exposition introduces characters and setting.
• 2Rising action builds the problem; the climax is the peak.
• 3Falling action and resolution wrap the story up.