Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition
Parents Just Don't Understand
Zach, Alice, and Poppy get together to play almost every day after school—at least until Zach's dad throws away his toy figurines, which are central to their game. Ugh. Zach tells his friends he's done playing, though he doesn't tell them why. Yeah, he's sort of in denial, and more than a little embarrassed. With this, the stage is set: We know our cast of main characters, and it's clear that something is going to happen—Zach can't just quit hanging with his friends and have nothing happen as a result, after all.
Rising Action
The Queen Is Dead
Poppy isn't ready to let the game die quite yet, so she tells Zach and Alice that the Queen, a doll who's always been central to their game, is possessed by a dead girl named Eleanor. Needless to say, this gets their attention—it's super creepy. And so the kids set off on a long journey to return Eleanor to her empty grave, sneaking out of their houses under cover of darkness with a possessed doll. As they make their way, sketchiness abounds and the friends encounter a lot of challenges.
Climax
Illegal Nerd Stuff
Despite ample chances for getting caught being up to no good, it isn't until Zach, Alice, and Poppy break into a library that they're busted. They've come so far in terms of laying Eleanor's soul to rest, and everything hangs in the balance as Miss Katherine (the librarian who busts them) heads out to lunch, giving the kids their only chance to figure out an escape. In the nick of time, the gang manages to escape the break room Miss Katherine's locked them in, resuming their quest.
Falling Action
So Many Feelings
The gang finally arrives in the graveyard, so it's time to party—and by party, we mean stage a doll funeral. Duh. First up, though, a confession from Zach, who finally comes clean with his friends about what his dad did to his toys. There are tears. Aw.
Resolution
Creepy Doll Funeral
The kids finally locate Eleanor's headstone and lay the doll to rest—you know, normal kid stuff—holding a funeral, and finishing just as their families arrive to take them home. Mission accomplished.