the.com/plot
a chain of cause and effect, mistaken by amateurs for a list of events
means The structured sequence of events in a story, linked by cause and effect — or, separately, a measured piece of ground, or a secret scheme to do something underhanded.
from From Old English 'plot,' meaning a small patch of ground — a marked-off bit of earth. The land sense came first; the others sprouted from it. The 'secret scheme' meaning likely grew from the idea of a marked-out plan or chart, possibly cross-pollinated by the French 'complot' (a conspiracy). From plans on paper came the literary 'plot': the laid-out ground plan of a narrative.
- forster's rule
- king died then queen died is story; from grief is plot
- finite shapes
- some argue all stories share seven basic plots
- double meaning
- same word for narrative arcs and conspiracies to kill
- graveyard sense
- a plot is also where stories permanently end
- plot device
- contrivances dragging characters where writers need them
the plot against hitler — july 20, 1944 assassination attempt by german officers led by claus von stauffenberg
gunpowder plot — november 5, 1605 failed conspiracy to blow up british parliament and king james i
watergate scandal — 1972-1974 political conspiracy resulting in president richard nixon's resignation