Exposition: At the beginning of the story, characters, setting, and the main conflict are typically introduced.
Rising Action: The main character is in crisis and events leading up to facing the conflict begin to unfold. The story becomes complicated.
Climax: At the peak of the story, a major event occurs in which the main character faces a major enemy, fear, challenge, or other source of conflict. The most action, drama, change, and excitement occurs here.
Falling Action: The story begins to slow down and work towards its end, tying up loose ends.
Resolution/Denoument: Also known as the denouement, the resolution is like a concluding paragraph that resolves any remaining issues and ends the story.
Plots, also known as storylines, include the most significant events of the story and how the characters and their problems change over time.