plot point
Narrative pivotal moment
A plot point is a significant event or revelation that changes the direction of a narrative.
In screenwriting and fiction, plot points mark turning points where characters face new circumstances or make pivotal decisions: The betrayal was the major plot point of act two.
The term sometimes applies loosely to any notable story development.
- twistRotating motion or surprise
- climaxPoint of greatest intensity
- third actFinal dramatic segment
- revelationSurprising disclosed truth
- turningAct of rotating
inciting incident · scene · conflict · rising action · suspense · cliffhanger · tension · dramatic irony · foreshadowing · payoff · setup · character arc · arc · story beat · beat · complication · resolution · stakes
- plotstoryline, climax, narrative, rising action, falling action
- story structureact one, act two, act three, first act, second act
- dramaturgydramaturgy, dramaturg, dramatic structure, dramatic technique, dramatic form
- tragedytragedy, tragic flaw, tragic hero, tragic heroes, tragic irony
- screenwritingscreenplay, screenplays, screenwriter, screenwriting, script
plot pointfiller
Substance closing gaps
padding · window dressing · tangent · digression · dead air
plot pointatmosphere
Gaseous layer around planets
world-building · exposition · character sketch · scene-setting · mood piece
plot pointexposition
Systematic explanatory presentation
digression · tangent · subplot · backstory · aside
plot, point, plots, plotted, plotting, plotter, plotters, points, pointed