ry-element of the fiction. The fact is the root of the necessity that
the action develop in concert with the trait of character, giving it
opportunity for expression. And in the story which lays emphasis on
atmosphere, the climactic progression of the particular atmosphere to
the point of highest intensity is the real story-element, which is the
root of the necessity that the action develop in strict keeping with the
atmosphere, that the effect may not be spoiled.

What is a plot? Many attempts at definition have been made, and the
results have not been illuminating. Everyone has an idea of what a plot
is, but those who have attempted to state their conception briefly have
encountered difficulties. Perhaps an indirect approach to the problem
will yield results.

A tale is not a story, for a tale is a relation of events which happened
to happen to the characters. It is episodal, and the interest of the
thing inheres in each episode separately, not in the whole. There is no
essential connection between the incidents, except that they all
happened to the same group of characters. The contrary is true of a
story, interest in which is in the whole, as a progression, and, since
the difference between tale and story is made by the presence or absence
of plot, it appears that a distinguishing mark of a plot is that its
events function together as a unit. There is some connection between
them other than chance, and that connection lies in the intimate
relation between the events of a story and its characters. Event and
personality each influence or even determine each other simultaneously.
Incidentally, realization of the fact will free the writer from any
misconception that the action and the characters are separable elements
of a story. For instance, jealousy, a trait of character, may cause a
murder, an event, and a husband's chance opening of a letter addressed
to his wife, an event, may give rise to Jealousy, the trait of
character. Or the husband's loyalty will be strengthened in the fiction
if he refuses to credit appearances.

Interaction, then, between incidents and characters, arising from the
unity of the whole conception, is the first essential element of a plot.
The second essential element--and there are but two--is that the several
incidents of the story possess climactic value, not necessarily
climactic value in the sense of ascending tensity--though that is most
desirable--but climactic value in that each even