rising action
a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the climax
climax
most exciting/intense moment of the story; turning point
falling action
events after the climax, leading to the resolution
resolution
how the conflict/problem of the story is solved
conflict
the “problem” that the protagonist has in his/her life
exposition
what “sets up” the story
setting
the place or time that the story takes place
situation/climate
what’s going on when we meet the characters; history; mood at the beginning
characters
people in a story
protagonist
“good guy” or main character
antagonist
“bad guy” or the person getting in the way of the protagonist
theme
an idea or message about life that we can see in a story
plot
the series of events in a story
dynamic character
has “drama” or many emotional states
static character
is the same throughout the story or is in the background