Plot Elements
What is the inciting incident?
The event that sets the plot in motion and introduces the conflict.
What are the two main types of conflict?
Internal and external.
What is the setting?
The woods, long ago.
What is the inciting incident?
Carabossa becomes angry she wasn’t invited and casts an evil spell on Briar Rose.
This stage gives the audience enough background to understand who the characters are and where the story takes place — but no real conflict yet.
Exposition
What is the exposition of a story?
The beginning that introduces the characters and setting.
What is a conflict in a story?
A struggle between opposing forces.
Who are the main characters introduced in the exposition?
Little Red, her grandmother, and the wolf.
Who are the main characters introduced in the exposition?
King and Queen, Briar Rose, Carabossa, Good Fairy, and Prince Philip.
This is the spark that upsets the normal world of the story and launches the main problem or journey.
Inciting Incident
What is the rising action?
A series of events that build tension and interest.
What is character vs. character conflict?
When two characters oppose each other.
What is the inciting incident in Little Red Riding Hood?
Little Red sets out for her grandmother’s house and meets the wolf.
What is the main conflict type in Sleeping Beauty?
Character vs. character – Briar Rose and her supporters vs. Carabossa.
The story reaches its most intense moment — a decision, discovery, or event that changes everything for the main character.
Climax
What is the climax?
The turning point and moment of greatest tension.
What is character vs. self conflict?
When a character struggles with their own emotions or decisions.
What is the conflict in the story?
Character vs. character – Little Red vs. the Wolf.
What event represents the climax?
Philip fights through the thorns to reach Briar Rose.
After the turning point, the results of the character’s choices unfold, the conflict winds down, and balance is restored (or not).
Falling Action & Resolution
What happens in the falling action and resolution?
The conflict begins to resolve; loose ends are tied up.
Name two types of external conflict.
Character vs. nature and character vs. society.
What is the climax?
The wolf is about to eat Little Red before the lumberjacks arrive.
What is the resolution of the story?
Philip awakens Briar Rose, the kingdom wakes up, and they live happily ever after.
Tension builds, obstacles appear, and characters make choices that deepen the conflict — all leading toward a breaking point.
Rising Action