ABSTRACT
A story is the narrative, or telling, of an event or series of events, crafted in a way to interest the audience members, whether they are readers, listeners, or viewers. Exposition is the information that grounds people in a story: who, what, where, when, and why. It gives audience members the tools they need to follow the story that's unfolding and, more importantly, it allows them inside the story. Judicious use of exposition can be a tool to build suspense, which noted filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock once explained in this way: Suppose audiences are watching a scene in which people are seated at a table, with a clock nearby, talking casually. Suddenly a bomb beneath the table explodes. In literary terms, theme is the general underlying subject of a specific story, a recurring idea that often illuminates an aspect of the human condition. The arc refers to the way or ways in which the events of the story progress over time.
