Plot Development

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Plot Development

• Young Adult Reading

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In the beginning

• Exposition
• Characters- who are they, why should you care,
  what are they like
• Setting- where are we, what is this location
  like, what are the people like
• Conflict- what is the problem that the characters
  are facing, why do we care

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Types of Plot

• Chronological- story moves in order of events
• Parallel- story is linked together by multiple
  stories going on at the same time.
• Flashbacks- author interrupts the flow of the
  story to take us back to actions that occurred
  before the present story. Flashbacks are
  typically used to help explain what is happening
  now and why.

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Character Development

• What does the author tell us up front about the
  protagonist?
• What does the author do to make you care about
  this person?
• Can you identify with the character?
• Are there any similarities between this character
  and another character in this book or another
  book?

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Functions of Setting

• Backdrop setting- just there not important to the
  story.
• Integral setting- critical to the action of the
  story.
• Setting as the antagonist- the setting creates
  problems for the protagonist.
• Setting that illuminates the character- because
  of the setting the character has important
  decisions to make

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Conflict

• Person vs. Person
• Person vs. Themselves
• Person vs. Unknown
• Person vs. Society
• Person vs. Nature
• Person vs. Supernatural

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And the plot thickens

• Tone/Mood- the overall emotions or feel of the
  book
• Flashback- taking us back to an event that
  happened before the action of the story.
• Foreshadowing- the use of hints to give us more
  insight into characters motives.
• Suspense- giving us bits of information along the
  way that lead us to the climax.

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Tone/Mood

• What sort of emotions are you experiencing as you
  read the book?
• How does the author bring out these emotions in
  the reader?
• Are there any words, phrases, sentences, or
  paragraphs that are particularly strong for this
  emotion?

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Flashback

• What events from before the action in the book
  have you learned about?
• Why do you think it was important to learn about
  this event?
• How does the author use this information to keep
  you interested in the story?

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Foreshadowing
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• Has the author given you any hints about upcoming
  events?
• Is there a change happening in the weather, the
  setting, or the mood?
• Are there objects or scenic elements that suggest
  something happy, sad, dangerous, exciting, etc.?
• Do characters or the narrator observe something
  in the background that might be a hint about
  something to come later?

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Suspense

• What information has the author given you about
  the conflict in the story?
• How has the author used new conflicts to build
  excitement in the story?
• Are you still waiting on information to be
  revealed? If so, what information are you waiting
  on?

Now for something a little scary!
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Theme

• What are some of the overall lessons learned in
  the story?
• Friendship
• Perseverance
• Trustworthiness
• Loyalty
• ETC.