Narrative structure
Narrative structure is the pattern by which a narrative arranges and connects its parts, shaping how events and information unfold.
Plot: The sequence of events and causal relationships that make up a story. Plot supplies the events that narrative structure arranges.
Three-act structure: A dramatic framework that organizes a story into setup, confrontation, and resolution. It gives a widely used model for dividing narrative development into major phases.
Narrative arc: The pattern of change and development through which a narrative moves toward an ending. An arc describes the larger shape produced by a sequence of structural choices.
Freytag's pyramid: A dramatic model that charts exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement. Its five-part shape offers a specific alternative to the three-act model.
Story and discourse: Story is the events in chronological order; discourse is how a narrative presents them. Their distinction separates event order from the order of presentation.
In medias res: A narrative opening that begins in the middle of events rather than at their chronological start. Beginning mid-action changes when background and causes become available.
Nonlinear narrative: A narrative that presents events out of chronological order or through discontinuous sequences. It makes rearrangement itself a central feature of the narrative design.
Kishōtenketsu: A four-part narrative structure organized around introduction, development, twist, and conclusion. Its turning point need not depend on direct conflict, unlike many Western plot models.
Narrative time: The ways a narrative represents and organizes time. Narrative structure can compress, expand, repeat, or reorder story time.
Foreshadowing: The introduction of clues or hints that anticipate later events in a narrative. Early signals connect distant parts of a narrative and shape expectations.