Short Story Elements

1. Short Story Elements

2. Plot • The sequence of related events that make up the story

3. Plot: Exposition • Usually found at the beginning of a story or play, exposition serves to do the following: • Introduce the main characters • Describe the setting • Establish the conflict

4. Plot: rising action/Complications • These are the events that occur as the characters try to resolve the conflict. • As a result of these complications, suspense builds.

5. Suspense • The excitement that involves readers in a story and motivates them to discover its outcome • Suspense is a feeling of growing tension and excitement felt by a reader. Writers create suspense by raising questions in readers’ minds about what might happen.

6. Plot: climax • The turning point of the action • The point of greatest interest or suspense

7. Plot: falling action & resolution • Falling Action: The conflict draws to a close. • Resolution: Conflict is resolved. • Resolution is AKA DENOUEMENT. • Denouement is from a French word that means untying. In this stage, the tangles of the plot are often untied.

8. Foreshadowing • The use of hints or clues that point to events that will occur later in the plot • Such hints may be events that are similar to the later events, or they may be descriptive words and phrases. • Foreshadowing is one of the ways writers create suspense.

9. Flashback • In a literary work, a flashback is an interruption of the action to present a scene that took place at an earlier time.

10. Setting • The time and place in which the events occur • Elements of setting may include: • Geographic location • Historical period/moment (past, present, or future) • The season of the year • The time of day • The beliefs, customs, and standards of society • Helps shape events and influence how characters speak, act, and respond to problems

11. Theme • The message about life or human nature that the writer wishes to convey to the reader • The story’s central idea • May be directly stated, but more often, readers must infer themes from clues in the story such as: • Title • How characters change and the lessons they learn • Conflicts in story action • Words or phrases that express important ideas

12. Point of View • The narrative method used to tell a story. • Usually, readers encounter either one of the following: • First Person Point of View • Third Person Point of View

13. First Person P.O.V. • Shows the action through the eyes of one of the characters. This character, the narrator, uses the pronoun I, me, my, we, our, and us. • Ex. Uncle Silas he asked a pretty long blessing over it, but it was worth it; and it didn’t cool it a bit, neither, the way I’ve seen them kind of interruptions do lots of times. • Mark Twain, from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

14. Third Person P.O.V. • Has a narrator who does not take part in the action of the story and who uses the pronouns he, she, him, her, they, and them when describing the characters • Anne leaned back in her chair one mild October evening and sighed. She was sitting at a table covered with textbooks and exercises, but the closely written sheets of paper before her had no apparent connection with studies or school work. • Lucy Maud Montgomery, from Anne of Avonlea

15. Dialogue • The written conversation between two or more characters • Dialogue can be used to: • Provide information about characters, action, and setting • Show the personalities and voices of characters • Add life and interest to a story

16. Characters • The people, animals, or imaginary creatures that take part in the action of a story

17. Static and Dynamic Characters • Dynamic Character- one who learns a lesson or changes behavior as a result of story events….typically main characters • Static Character-remains unchanged throughout the story…are often minor characters

18. Protagonist & Antagonist • The central character in a story, play, or the novel is called the protagonist. The protagonist is involved in the main conflict of the plot. • The character who opposes the protagonist is the antagonist.

19. Characterization • Includes all the techniques writers use to create and develop characters • Methods of Characterization • Presenting the character’s words and actions • Presenting the character’s thoughts • Describing the character’s thoughts • Showing what others think about the character

20. Conflict • Struggle between opposing forces • Usually, there is one central conflict in a story. However, there may be more than one.

21. Internal and External Conflict • External Conflict-A character struggles against an outside force, a physical obstacle, or another character (ex. man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. society) • Internal Conflict- The struggle take place within a character’s mind, often as the character chooses between two courses of action. (ex. man vs. self)