Location/Setting Where does your story take place? Describe the location, weather, time of day, etc. Use vivid descriptions so your readers will see them as clearly as you do. Where a story takes place is very important. Something that happens in a large city might seem unimportant and merely an everyday occurrence, but if the same thing happens in a small town, it can be much more important and interesting.

Plot What is going to happen in your story? The things that happen in a story are called the plot. How does your story begin? What happens next? How does it end? Think it out, otherwise things could happen in the wrong order. You have to be at a place before you can leave it.

Conflict The key element to all stories: It sparks the readers' interest and holds their attention throughout the story.

Complications (Rising Action) The story develops through a series of incidents or situations that add to the complexity of the story.

Crisis The turning point where the fortunes of the protagonist either improve or decline. The moment in the plot in which the conflict reaches its peak: the main character "wins" or "loses"; the secret is revealed; the ending of the story becomes inevitable, etc. In many stories, several points in the plot are possible crises. This is especially true when there are several almost-equal major characters. Try finding the moment which you think is the most important and discussing why it deserves to be thought of as the crisis of the plot. OR you could also try explaining why this particular story seems to have no crisis (if that is how you see it).

Climax The point in the story where the protagonist’s problems are solved, where the reader’s curiosity is satisfied and his/her fears allayed and expectations fulfilled. The climax is the highest point of action in the story. Have you decided how, when, and where the problem will reach its peak?

Resolution Have you decided how the problem will be solved and by whom?

Anticlimax The part that comes after the climax. Once the climax is past, the reader’s interest sags, so minimize, or eliminate further explanations and conclusions.

Theme: What does it all mean? Define the theme/moral of your story in one sentence. Theme is the main or central idea in a story. The theme is the message of the story. Theme is different than plot and a story may have several themes, explicit and implicit.

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing: Flashbacks and foreshadowing are tools we can use to add dimension to our writing. Flashbacks let us see into a character's past. Foreshadowing drops hints of things that may happen. Experts say flashbacks are dangerous, because they interrupt the flow of the present problem. However, the reader must learn about the protagonist's background somehow. Slip in a little info here and there...preferably through dialogue. Anything that interferes with the progression of the story is bad.

If you want to use a flashback, you must let the reader know that you are leaving the present. You can do this by using a transition statement such as, "Sandra thought back to her wedding day." Then, use past perfect ("had") two or three times to show that we are in the past. Act out the scene with action and dialogue. When you are finished, let the reader know you are returning to the present by using past perfect once or twice, and, if necessary, another transition sentence ("But that was then and this was now, and Sandra had to let the past stay in the past.").

Foreshadowing is even easier to use. It usually consists of only one or two sentences, and is especially effective when ending a scene or chapter. An example of foreshadowing:

The hair on the back of her neck bristled and a shiver ran down her spine. She sensed something bad was going to happen, but not what, or when.

Epiphany: Will any of your characters suddenly realize exactly what's happening and what needs to be done?

Conclusion: Make certain the conclusion of the story is believable.

Loose Ends: Make certain all loose ends are tied up.