Get Started Telling Your Stories By CAPT George Galdorisi, USN (Ret.)
Making the Freytag Pyramid Real
S
ince Rotor Review is published quarterly, I thought it would be helpful if I recapped what we talked about last time. Two big hitters: The log line: You have got to have one if you are going to write a novel. Here is the gouge: A log line is crucial to helping you focus on your story. Here is what a log line is. The subject of the sentence will describe (1) an imperfect but passionate and active protagonist. The verb will depict (2) the battle. And the direct object will describe (3) an insurmountable antagonist who tries to stop the protagonist from reaching (4) a physical goal on account of (5) the stakes, if the goal is not reached. If you are even semi-serious about banging out a novel, this is a necessary step to get your brain around just what it is you intend to write. This is something you must have before you rush out of the starting blocks and start slamming 80,000 to 100,000 words on paper The Freytag Pyramid: All good novels follow this process. You want to do this! Just to remind you of what we teed up last time, here is what the Freytag Pyramid looks like:
And here is what each segment of the Freytag Pyramid means: 1. Exposition: Setting the scene. The writer introduces the characters and setting, providing description and background. 2. Inciting Incident: Something happens to begin the action. A single event usually signals the beginning of the main conflict. The inciting incident is sometimes called "the complication." 3. Rising Action: The story builds and gets more exciting. 4. Climax:The moment of greatest tension in a story.This is often the most exciting event. It is the event that the rising action builds up to and that the falling action follows. 5. Falling Action: Events happen as a result of the climax and we know that the story will soon end. 6. Resolution: The character solves the main problem/ conflict or someone solves it for him or her. 7. Dénouement: (a French term, pronounced: day-noomoh) The ending. At this point, any remaining secrets, questions or mysteries which remain after the resolution are solved by the characters or explained by the author. Sometimes the author leaves us to think about the THEME or future possibilities for the characters. So…have you done your homework and read or watched The Wizard of Oz? Yes, it’s a children’s story, but it is a perfect example of how a hugely popular story follows the Freytag Pyramid. Stay with me on this. What we are going to do is show how a simple children’s story is built using the Freytag Pyramid. If this works for The Wizard of Oz, then it likely works for your story: The Wizard of Oz Exposition The exposition stage of the story sets the scene and introduces the characters. In The Wizard of Oz, the exposition is everything that happens from the beginning of the story to the tornado. We meet all the major characters. Dorothy runs
Rotor Review #152 Spring '21
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