【1.1】 PLOT:A SEQUENCE OF INTERRELATED ACTIONS OR EVENTS Like the people or characters in fiction,who are moulded out of reality,the actions or events in fiction are also derived from life.Therefore,as we can observe in daily life, they will usually occur in sequence,or in a chronological order in fiction.That's to say,to a writer,once the narrative or sequential order has been established,the next thing to consider is plot,or the plan of development of the actions What Is Plot? Without a plot,we do not have a story.A plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, based on conflicting human motivations,with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human response.In a well-plotted story,nothing is irrelevant;everything is related.The British novelist E.M.Forster,in Aspects of the Novel,presented a memorable illustration of plot.As a bare minimum narration of actions,in contrast to a story with a plot,he used the following:"the king died,and then the queen died." This sentence describes a sequence,a chronological order,but it is no more.To have a plot,a sequence must be integrated with human motivation.Thus the following sentence qualifies as fiction with a plot:"The king died,and then the queen died of grief."Once the narrative introduces the operative element "of grief,"which shows that one thing(grief over the king's death)produces or overcomes another(the death of the queen),there is a plot.Thus in a story time is important not only simply because one thing happens after another but because one thing happens because of another.It is response,interaction,opposition,and causation that make a plot out of a simple series of actions. Conflict in Plot【1.1】 PLOT: A SEQUENCE OF INTERRELATED ACTIONS OR EVENTS Like the people or characters in fiction, who are moulded out of reality, the actions or events in fiction are also derived from life. Therefore, as we can observe in daily life, they will usually occur in sequence, or in a chronological order in fiction. That’s to say, to a writer, once the narrative or sequential order has been established, the next thing to consider is plot, or the plan of development of the actions. What Is Plot? Without a plot, we do not have a story. A plot is a plan or groundwork for a story, based on conflicting human motivations, with the actions resulting from believable and realistic human response. In a well-plotted story, nothing is irrelevant; everything is related. The British novelist E. M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, presented a memorable illustration of plot. As a bare minimum narration of actions, in contrast to a story with a plot, he used the following: “the king died, and then the queen died.” This sentence describes a sequence, a chronological order, but it is no more. To have a plot, a sequence must be integrated with human motivation. Thus the following sentence qualifies as fiction with a plot: “The king died, and then the queen died of grief.” Once the narrative introduces the operative element “of grief,” which shows that one thing (grief over the king’s death) produces or overcomes another (the death of the queen), there is a plot. Thus in a story time is important not only simply because one thing happens after another but because one thing happens because of another. It is response, interaction, opposition, and causation that make a plot out of a simple series of actions. Conflict in Plot