Obviously, no two plots are the same, but there are some tried and tested plot structures that work, and this week I'm going to be talking you through a few of them. (Fairly) Recent research has told us that there are six main plot structures used in stories: Rags to Riches; Tragedy / Riches to Rags; Man in a Hole; Icarus; Cinderella and Oedipus.
We'll start off the week looking at all of the three plots which end in a fall, and by Friday we can end the week on a high!
The most simple falling plot is the tragedy plot, also known as the riches to rags plot, and it looks like this:
In this plot, there are no significant rises and falls, just one steady downwards fall as time progresses. This is the opposite of your traditional fairy tale plot (rags to riches), but I think it has become particularly poignant in modern writing with stories about depression and mental health.
This is potentially a hard structure both to write and read - your main character starts with everything and ends with nothing. You could write about a fall from fame, wealth, health, friendships/relationships or just about anything under the sun.
Try writing a story using this structure - they can start and end at any level you want as long as you follow the basic structure. Don't worry if this seems a little limiting - there will be opportunities to do all six structures throughout the week.
Happy writing!
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