In order to write your story for this assignment, you must first be familiar with Freytag's pyramid. This is a structure used to ensure a successful, dramatic story. It has seven key steps:
- Exposition, which means setting the scene.
- Inciting incident, in which the character reacts to something that happens.
- Rising action, where the story builds, often in response to some challenge or complication.
- Climax, the height of drama and intensity, where the story reaches its peak. This might be a confrontation between the main character and their archenemy, for example.
- Falling action, in which the effects of the climax are gradually brought down. Often the character reflects on what they have learned, or how they have changed.
- Resolution, where the original problem is now solved or the challenge met in some way.
- Denouement , which is otherwise known as the ending. It can be happy or sad,...
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- depending on the type of story you want to tell.
So, your job is to pick an event that would make a good story and fit it into this dramatic structure. Then, identify the parts that highlight rising action, climax, and falling action in your story. Here is a very brief example of how that might look:
Last weekend, at the zoo, I saw something amazing. Near the penguin exhibit, a child was playing with a toy shark. By accident, the shark tumbled into the penguin cage. The child cried out in alarm as several penguins dived for the shark toy. Water splashed and penguins thrashed, all trying to catch it. Finally, one penguin emerged triumphant, with the shark in its beak. However, when trying to swallow it, the toy got stuck in the penguin’s throat. It started to choke! The child was crying, and everyone was running around, calling for help. Luckily, a zookeeper came running in and grabbed the choking penguin. With expert hands, she plucked the toy shark out. The penguin squawked in relief. The zookeeper then returned the shark to a tearful child, after washing it clean of penguin spit. All’s well that ends well, but it was a dramatic day at the zoo.
In my example, the rising action occurs when the toy shark falls into the penguin exhibit. The climax is when the penguin tries to eat the toy and ends up choking. Falling action is when the zookeeper saves the penguin and returns the toy. I hope this is helpful in guiding your storytelling project!
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