Plot movement
(aka: how the story actually moves forward)
- Stories don’t just sit there politely. They move.
- Sometimes fast. Sometimes painfully slowly. That movement is called plot movement.
What is plot movement?
Definition
Plot movement
Plot movement refers to how events progress and change across a story.
- It focuses on:
- what happens next
- how quickly events unfold
- how one moment leads to another
- In simple terms:
Plot movement is how the story gets from A to B (and then to chaos).
Why plot movement matters
- Plot movement:
- builds tension
- keeps the reader interested
- shows cause and effect
- shapes the reader’s emotional journey
- If nothing changes, the story stalls.
Types of plot movement
Cyclical plot
- Events or ideas repeat
- The story often ends where it began
- Suggests routine, inevitability, or lack of change
- Why writers use it:
- To show characters stuck in patterns or cycles.
Example
- The story opens and ends with the character walking the same empty street, suggesting that despite everything that happened, nothing has truly changed.
Flashback
- Past events are inserted into the present story
- Interrupts the timeline on purpose
- Why writers use it:
- To reveal backstory, explain motivation, or reframe the present.
Example
- As the character hesitates before making a decision, the narrative shifts back to a childhood memory that explains their fear of failure.
Foreshadowing
- Hints about what will happen later
- Creates expectation and tension
- Why writers use it:
- To prepare the reader emotionally or build suspense.
Example
- Early in the story, the narrator mentions a cracked photograph frame, subtly hinting at a relationship that will later break apart.
Episodic plot
- The story unfolds through separate episodes or events
- Each episode matters, but they are loosely connected
- Why writers use it:
- To focus on experience, growth, or themes rather than one tight storyline.
Example
- The story follows the character through a series of loosely connected experiences at different schools, each one shaping their identity without leading to a single dramatic climax.
Framing
- A story within a story
- An outer narrative surrounds the main one
- Why writers use it:
- To add perspective, reliability issues, or distance between events and the reader.
Example
- An older narrator tells the story of their youth to a listener, creating a frame that separates the present perspective from the past events.
Using PEEL to analyse plot movement
P: Point
- Identify the type of plot movement and its effect.
- cyclical
- flashback
- foreshadowing
- episodic
- framing
Example
- The writer uses foreshadowing to guide the reader’s expectations and build tension.
E: Evidence
- Refer to a specific moment that shows this movement.
Example
- This is shown when the narrator draws attention to a damaged object early in the story, hinting that the relationship will later break down.
E: Explain
- Explain how this plot movement works and why it matters.
Example
- By placing this hint early on, the writer prepares the reader for future conflict. This makes later events feel inevitable rather than sudden, increasing tension as the story develops.
L: Link
- Link back to the same plot movement effect named in the Point.
Example
- As a result, the use of foreshadowing shapes the plot movement by directing the reader toward the story’s eventual conflict and heightening anticipation.
Exam technique
- Sentence starters for plot analysis
- Identifying plot movement
- The writer uses a … plot movement to…
- This extract follows a cyclical / flashback / framing structure because…
- The plot moves backwards / forwards when…
- Using evidence
- This is shown when the narrative…
- The shift in time occurs as…
- Explaining effect
- This plot movement affects the story by…
- The change in timeline increases tension because…
- This movement helps the reader understand…
- Linking to bigger ideas
- As a result, the plot movement reinforces…
- This structure supports the theme of…
- The way the plot moves reflects…
- Identifying plot movement
Now it's your turn...
Example question
- Practice task: analysing plot movement
- Extract
- The story opens with the character returning to their childhood home. As they walk through the familiar rooms, the narrative shifts to a memory of an argument that happened years earlier. In the final scene, the character leaves the house unchanged, locking the door behind them.
- Your task
- Write one PEEL paragraph answering the question below.
- Question:
- How does plot movement shape meaning in this extract?
- What students should focus on
- identifying the type(s) of plot movement
- explaining how the story moves through time
- considering how this movement affects tension or meaning
- linking the movement to the overall structure of the story
Solution
The writer uses a cyclical plot movement combined with a flashback to shape the meaning of the extract. This is shown when the character returns to their childhood home, recalls a past argument, and then leaves the house unchanged at the end. The flashback interrupts the present action to explain the emotional weight of the house, while the cyclical ending suggests that the character has not moved on from the past. This slows the plot movement and creates a reflective, unresolved tone rather than a sense of progress. As a result, the plot movement reinforces the idea that confronting the past does not always lead to change.
- P: Point
- The writer uses a cyclical plot movement combined with a flashback to shape the meaning of the extract.
- E: Evidence
- This is shown when the character returns to their childhood home, shifts into a memory of a past argument, and then leaves the house unchanged.
- E: Explain
- The flashback explains the emotional significance of the setting, while the cyclical ending shows that the character ends where they began. This slows the plot movement and prevents a clear resolution, creating a reflective and unresolved effect.
- L: Link
- As a result, the plot movement reinforces the idea that confronting the past does not always result in growth or change.
Self review
- Revision summary: plot, tension, and structure
- Plot movement
- How events progress and change
- Includes cyclical plots, flashbacks, foreshadowing, episodic plots, and framing
- Controls pacing and direction
- Tension
- Created through delay, anticipation, and change
- Affected by how fast or slow the plot moves
- Increased when outcomes are postponed or hinted at
- Structure
- The overall shape of the story
- Includes exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution
- Plot movement determines how we travel through this structure
- Plot movement
