10-second review: A plot is not an incident. A plot is a series of incidents leading to a crisis.
Title: “What a Plot Is, and What It Is Not.” Mona Farnsworth. The Writer (May 2009), 9. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.
Summary/Quote: “A plot is a situation, as intricately involved as life itself, peopled with characters who have a problem and who, through the unfolding of your plot, solve it. It requires a series of incidents—between 20 and 25 probably—to advance your action and bring the whole thing to a crisis.” p. 9.
Comment: In my literature class, this writer’s definition of a plot would enable me to help students distinguish between an incident and a plot and could be applied to creative writing. Leads to the question, “How is an incident different from a short story?” RayS.
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