This article helped me to understand the many differing ways narratives' dramatic structures are shaped that are nonetheless identical. Though Knight uses terms that are different from ones I've learned and use, like conflict instead of complication, the points he makes are nonetheless insightful and informative. Also, though the book's title implies the poetics text is about short forms, the points are equally applicable to long forms, perhaps parts of long forms, say individual, standalone chapters of novels that synergistically factor up to the whole.
I have, of course, read the entire book, and own a copy.
In this excerpt, Knight offers conventional features for and examples of "The Story of Resolution," "The Story of Revelation," "Trick Endings," "The Story of Decision," "The Story of Explanation," and "The Story of Solution," as well as a "Common Plotting Faults and What to Do About Them" section, and a discussion about "Unplotted Stories."
Printer-friendly view of this topic
