A plot is the organised pattern or sequence of events that make up a story. Every plot is made up of a series of incidents that are related to one another.
1. Exposition - beginning of story
This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story, Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (problem)
2. Rising Action - beginning of story
This part of the story begins to develop the conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs.
3. Climax - middle of story
This is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face to face with conflict. The main character will change in some way.
4. Falling Action - end of story
All loose ends of the plot are tied up. The conflict(s) and climax are taken care of.
5. Resolution - end of story
the story comes to a reasonable ending.
A story is roughly composed of exposition, conflict, rising action, climax and denouement. Something has to happen in the story (or at least give the viewers the feeling as though something has happened). Things like conflict and resolution achieve this effect.
An event in a person's life
The most important thing about a short story plot is that it should be about and event in a person's life. The reader is drawn into a story by identifying with the central character, and it is this identification which should hold his attention all the way through. A finished story may well have a general meaning, such as: 'love will find a way' or: 'appearances can be deceptive', but it is not practical to set out with the intention of creating a story to illustrate such a message. We must start with a person - a person facing some kind of predicament, and work out the story in those terms.
A unifying theme
But it is also important that a plot should have a unifying theme - a purpose, to hold it together.
If the plot is what happens in the story, the theme is what it means, what it is about; not in a general sense, but in terms of the specific struggle in which the central character is engaged. Without a theme a plot becomes episodic - A happens, then B happens, then C happens, etc. without a sense of purpose or direction.
The theme is the backbone of the story, and should form an unbroken link from the beginning to the end. If you are developing a story, and not sure where it should be going, a consideration of the opening, or the proposed ending should reveal the theme and help you pull it together.
The opening paragraphs of the story should establish a situation which is unstable, which contains within it the necessity for change, and the ending should show the results of that change, and the achievement of some form of stability. The nature of the initial instability should be mirrored in the finally achieved stability, and the connection between them is your theme. So you should be able to see the opening of your story reflected in its ending, and the ending reflected in the opening. If you cannot then the story hasn't yet gelled, and won't yet work.
In some cases you may not be able to define your theme in words, it may be just a feeling, and the story may well be an attempt to capture that feeling. There is nothing wrong with this, in fact it may be the way the best stories are conceived, but even if you can't define the theme you must have a sense of what it is. It must be there as the raison d'être of the story, giving it direction and holding it together.
Conflict
The progress from opening to ending should be logical, but not straightforward. A simple situation of instability resolving into stability does not make a plot. A conflict between opposing forces is needed, and should be integral to the theme. The conflict can be between the central character and other characters, between the central character and his circumstances, or between conflicting desires within the central character.
The conflict does not have to be violent or arouse extreme passions, nor does its nature necessarily have to be obvious or clear-cut. It can be as subtle as you like, but it must be there, holding the reader in suspense.
Suspense
Suspense does not mean we have to think in crude melodramatic terms - with someone's life being at stake, some injustice being done, or someone betraying someone else. It simply means the reader should be held in a state of anticipation, always feeling something is about to happen and always eager to find out what it will be. An economical style of writing plays an important part in this, but is not enough on its own. Whatever the nature of the ideas you are working with it is essential to establish a sense of forward momentum right from the start, and to keep up the pressure all the way through. Even the subtlest stories keep the reader wondering 'What will happen next?' A plot is about movement and change and, in however subtle a form, suspense.
Structure
A short story needs a simple structure. There is no room for the complex development of sub-plots we get in most novels, plays, and films. We are dealing with a single important event in a person's life. In my 'First principles' the list of six points gives a simple skeleton structure for a plot, and another useful way of thinking of structure is in terms of:
before - turning point - after
The turning point is a decisive action taken by the central character - before shows the circumstances leading up to that decision, and after shows the consequences.
When planning the shape of a story remember that we are not trying to reproduce life as it actually happens from day to day, but to distil a meaningful pattern from it. So the episodes should not be chosen to illustrate the way life really is, but to illustrate the key points in the pattern.
At the same time we know that the best stories feel as if they are real, and good writers achieve this by selecting just the right details from reality to stimulate the reader's imagination into constructing picture of the whole.
The Climax
At the climax of the story the conflicting forces which have given the story its energy since the opening come together and reach breaking point. Something falls away, or reverses, a decision is reached, and things are not as they were before. The circumstances which gave rise to the original instability no longer prevail. The central character's horizon has shifted and, at least for the moment, the way forward is clear.
Give your central character an active role.
A strong plot has the central character in an active role - he does something to try and resolve the conflict. It is never enough just to have the central character in a passive role, as a victim of circumstances beyond his control.
I would suggest that the pattern of the central character's action and its outcome could follow one of two fundamental courses:
1) The central character struggles against limitations, and makes a breakthrough towards fulfilment.
2) The central character struggles against limitations, fails, and changes direction.
Setting
Your initial conception of a story will almost certainly come complete with the setting. The setting is the world where the characters live, and will reveal itself as they move through it. It rarely needs much consideration on its own. A setting may well inspire a plot, and be an important element in the story, but it is never a substitute for a plot. It is people, their actions and their feelings which make a story.
Conclusion
In conclusion, some important points to remember in constructing a good plot are:
1) Make sure you are starting with a person, and not an idea.
2) Make sure you have a clear understanding, or clear feeling, of what your theme is.
3) Keep the theme in your mind right from the beginning, and only bring in episodes which contribute directly to it, and move the story towards its resolution.
4) In the selection of specific incidents and details adapt reality to fit the story, not the other way round.
Bibliography
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/shortstorywriting/a/shortstoryrules.htm
http://www.literature-study-online.com/creativewriting/plot2.html
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