This post is my own understanding of Freytag’s Pyramid, the concept that I learnt a few weeks ago. It was a simple framework of story telling, or how to write something into a continuous story. There are five (or six) stages to organise our thought into a story.

This framework is used in a fictional story writing such as novel, but I found a few occasions where I can take the basic structure (or partial structure) of the framework to organise my thought, even though the story that I wrote isn’t fictional. It was a versatile writing framework — at least for me.

Freytag Pyramid Image by writers.com

  1. Exposition — introduction of the characters, explaining the situation, the plot, context, background information, etc. Telling the audience about the initial situation.
  2. Inciting incident — the initial or the beginning of the challenge that trigger the whole situation. The compelling events.
  3. Rising action — the longest part of the story, where the main conflict unfolds and intensifies.
  4. Climax — the peak of the drama. The conflict reaches the highest level of intensity.
  5. Falling action — the aftermaths of the conflicts. Loose ends begin to be tied up. Remaining questions and conflicts are addressed.
  6. Resolution (conclusion, denouement) — satisfy readers with the resolution of the conflicts. Potentially providing food for thought or emotional resonance that may linger after the story ends.

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