A plot is a literary phrase that refers to the principal events of a work. The author of the narrative creates the plot by arranging events in a meaningful way to shape the story. As a result, not all stories are given in chronological sequence. For example, many short stories are told in succession without much break between them. This technique is called "short story writing." Novels, on the other hand, tend to have more detail and complexity of character development over a longer period of time. Short stories are often based on incidents from real life. These incident can be true or false. However, even if some details are changed to make the story unique, the main ideas should still be the same. Thus, the writer of the short story can shape the plot by choosing what information to include and what information to leave out. In novels, the plot usually has several major plots that interconnect with each other. Each time one of these major plots is resolved, another one begins. For example, in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the main plot involves a wealthy businessman who cannot bring himself to kill Christmas, so he tries to get his family business back by begging for charity. When this doesn't work, he tries to hire a ghost to do it for him. Finally, when this also fails, he resolves to solve his problem himself.