Wednesday, 16 August 2017

Fiction Workshop 12 Working with Gustav Freytag's Triangle




Freytag's triangle can be extremely useful. It is a two dimensional model and show us that the story develops in more than one way. Last time, we concentrated on getting you to understand exactly what your story is about and giving it a very rough outline.
This time we're looking a little more at emphasis.
This diagram is probably self-explanatory.  
How can you stress and downplay cause and effects? Then see how the action rises and becomes more complex – desis.
Find the crisis point. Dénouement comes from the French and literally means unknotting. During the "unknotting" both reader and protagonist will get some enlightenment. The action "falls" as we hurtle towards the resolution.

Creative writing exercise

Take the story outline that you developed last time and plot onto a triangle the same shape as this one what are the causes and effects.
Make sure you say a few words about each of these terms as well:
Incentive moment
Rising action
Complication
Crisis
Reversal
Falling action
Dénouement
Resolution
Are you now getting some more meat on to the bones?  
You may also find it useful to analyse a story you have read and see how well it fits this model. Even if you are a "punster", you may find it useful to see how well your finished story fits this model. Possibly, if something is not working, it may be because this scheme is too skewed.      

  

           

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