| Linear | The events of the plot unfold in the order in which they have occured. |
| Chronological | Events are sequenced in order of time. |
| Sequential | Events which are arranged one after the other in a sequence within in a narrative. |
| Circular structure | When a plot begins in the same place or way that it ends. The characters undergo a transformation and a normal plot occurs in between. |
| Time based | A continuous moving image which displays a change in time. |
| Narrative arc | The path a story follows. Often a narrative will include ups and downs, moments of climax and resolution which is reflected in an arc shape. |
| Freytag’s Pyramid | 19th century German playwright ‘Freytag’s’ diagram of dramatic structure. |
| Exposition | The background information on the characters and setting explained at the beginning of the story. Earlier events are alluded to. |
| Inciting incident | The hook, the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy the narrative. |
| Rising action | The incline of a narrative arc. Often, the events that lead up to the climax. |
| Climax | The point of highest intensity or major conflict within in a narrative. The steepest point of a narrative arc. |
| Falling action | The declining part of a narrative arc. Often, what happens after the climax and resolution of the major conflict. |
| Resolution | When an element of the plot is solved. And the exposition of the plot is revisited |
| Denouement | The final part of the narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved. |
| Beginning/ Middle/ End | How linear narratives are sequenced |
| Equilibrium | First stage of Todorov’s theory. The situation and characters are introduced in a normal circumstance. |
| Disruption | Second stage of Todorov’s theory. A change takes place causing an alter in the norm. |
| Transgression | Disequilibrium is often caused by societal / moral / ethical transgression. |
| New equilibrium | Third stage of Todorov’s theory. The change in circumstance is overcome and the situation reaches a new normal. |
| Peripeteia | A sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances. |
| Anagnorisis | A character discovers their own, or another character’s true identity. |
| Catharsis | The process of releasing and providing relief from repressed emotions. The purging of strong emotion. |
| The 3 Unities: Time, Place, Action | The 3 traditional unities of drama. The Aristotelian idea that a narrative should be set in once place, in one time frame, focused on one action. |
| Flashback | When the current narrative is interrupted by a previous event which could provide key information about a character etc. |
| Flashforward | When the current narrative is interrupted by an event that is yet to take place. |
| Ellipsis | The exclusion of action from a narrative because it can be inferred from dialogue and other action. |
| Pathos | A quality that evokes feelings of pity and sadness. |
| Empathy | The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. |
| Diegtic sound | Sound that occurs within the context of the story and able to be heard by the characters. |
| Non-diegetic sound | Sound that occurs externally to the narrative, it is not heard by the characters. |
| Slow motion | Visual effect created either by the actors or as a special effect in the edit. Time is slowed down. |
| Foreshadowing | When events that take place later on in the narrative are alluded to or hinted towards. |
| In Media-res | The practice of beginning a narrative by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events. ‘In the middle of things’. |
| Metanarratives | Drawing attention to the process of storytelling. |
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