Elements of Short Stories
American Leadership Academy
Plot
The arrangement (sequence) of events in a story that develop the author’s ideas
Planned logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end
There are five elements of plot:
Introduction or exposition
Rising action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Plot structure
1. EXPOSITION
Also called the introduction
The beginning of the story where the characters and setting are introduced
Conflict
The conflict is the main problem or struggle in a story
Essential to plot, without a conflict there is no plot
Makes the plot move forward and makes it interesting
In a short story there must be one central struggle, or there may be one central struggle with many minor ones
There are two types of conflict:
1. External – a struggle with a force outside one’s self
2. Internal – a struggle with one’s self
External Conflicts:
1. Person vs. Person (interpersonal) – the leading character struggles with his/her strength against another person. Can also be vocal.
2. Person vs. Nature (physical) – the leading character struggles with aspects of the natural world.
3. Person vs. Circumstance (classical) – the leading character struggles with fate or the circumstances of life facing him/her.
4. Person vs. Society (social) – the leading character struggles against ideas, practices or customs of other people.
Internal Conflicts:
1. Person vs. Him/Herself (Psychological) – the leading character struggles with his/her own soul, ideas of right/wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.
1. RISING ACTION
Events in the story become complicated
Conflict in the story is revealed
The events that occur between the introduction and climax
3. CLIMAX
Highest point of interest
The turning point
The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
Consider the climax as three parts:
The main character receives new information
The character accepts this information – realizes this information, but does not necessarily agree with it.
The character acts on this information – makes a choice that will determine whether or not he/she gains his/her objective
4. FALLING ACTION
The events and complications begin to resolve themselves
Events between the climax and resolution
5. RESOLUTION
Also known as the denouement
The final outcome
Untangling of events in the story
Setting
Reveled in the exposition of the story
The time and location in which a story takes place
Aspects of setting: Place – geographical location. Where is the story taking place?
Time – when is the story taking place? Historical period, time of day, year, etc.
Weather Conditions – is it rainy? Sunny? Stormy? Etc.
Social Conditions – what is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a certain place)
Mood or atmosphere – the tone of the story. What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful, or dark and frightening?
Character
Has two meanings: The person in a work of fiction
The characteristics of a person
PERSONS IN A WORK OF FICTION:
PROTAGONIST The main character
Central to the story
All events are of some importance to this character
The character that is primarily involved in the main conflict of the story
ANTAGONIST The character opposing the main character
The character that brings about the conflict
Generally the “bad guy”
CHARACTERS ARE:
ROUND – many sided, and complex personalities. They are not stereotypical and often surprise readers with unexpected behaviour and values.
DYNAMIC – a character that undergoes a change over the course of the story. The conflict and plot of the story affects a dynamic character and causes a change within him or her.
FLAT – stereotypical character. Usually one dimensional, static and shallow.
STATIC – a character that does not change throughout the story. This character is the same at the end of the story as they were in the beginning
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON:
In order for a story to seem real the characters must seem real
Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters
We learn about a character through:
1. Their physical description
2. The character’s actions
3. The character’s words (dialogue)
4. The character’s inner thoughts
5. What other characters say and think about the character
Style
The technique the author uses to express him/herself and convey ideas and central purpose.
Style is very personal
In order to determine an author’s style, one must consider the following:
1. Diction
2. Sentence Structure
3. Point of View
4. Irony
5. Symbolism
6. Imagery
1. DICTION
Refers to the author’s word choice:
FORMAL – usually found in academic text, academic papers, and formal discourse
INFORMAL – relaxed conversation and is found in writing that has a lighter tone and is somewhat humorous
COLLOQUIAL – everyday usage of a particular group. For example, in Cape Breton people say “A bun of bread”, “A sup of pop”, etc.
SLANG – a newly coined word not accepted for formal usage yet, and is usually not found in the dictionary
2. SENTENCE STRUCTURE
The type of sentences used:
SIMPLE
COMPOUND
COMPLEX
SHORT
LONG
3. POINT OF VIEW
The perspective from which a story is told. The narrator tells the story.
FIRST PERSON – the narrator relays the story to the reader as a first-hand account. The narrator was a participant or observer in the story and is now relaying what he/she actually saw, heard or felt. Personal pronouns are used. For example, I, me, we, us, etc. The reader is limited to what the person relaying the story knows.
SECOND PERSON – the narrator addresses the reader as “you”. Often a composition that relies on the second person ends up sounding preachy and offensive.
THIRD PERSON – a detached narrator tells the story in an objective manner. No personal pronouns are used. There are three variations of the third person point of view:
Omniscient – the narrator tells the story with complete and unrestricted knowledge. An omniscient narrator knows the internal thoughts and feelings of every character involved in the story and can move freely between geographic locations, and time.
Limited – the narrator filters his/her story through the perspective of one character. The narrator can still convey that character’s internal thoughts and feelings, but all other characters are developed through the viewpoint of the central character.
Objective – the narrator has the freedom to move in space and time, but he can only relay action and dialogue, forgoing the ability to delve into characters’ thoughts and feelings. This is much like a movie where the audience can view what the actor does, and hear what they say, but does not know what they are thinking.
4. IRONY
A contradiction between what the reader expects and what actually happens in the story
VERBAL IRONY – when an author or speaker says exactly the opposite of what he/she means
SITUATIONAL IRONY – when the reality of a situation differs or seems opposite from what is expected
DRAMATIC IRONY – when the reader or audience knows more about the situation than the actual characters in the work
5. SYMBOLISM
A symbol is one thing that represents or stands for another.
Generally an object, person, situation, or idea that deepens the meaning of the work by evoking content that is not literally expressed in the work itself
Are the key to understanding a work
Often an author will use images when they want to convey important ideas
For example a red rose could symbolize beauty or love, but a red rose with wilted petals might symbolize faded beauty or lost love.
6. IMAGERY
The goal is to make the reader actually see, feel, taste, touch, or smell the subject or idea at work
There are two types:
Sensuous Imagery – Images the appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell
Figurative Imagery – similes, metaphors, personification, assonance, etc.
Theme
Central idea or meaning of a work – the core message
Often an idea that the author hopes to express or better understand
The best short stories have something to teach to us about ourselves, our relationships, and our world
The title often points to what the writer is saying and the author may use figures of speech to emphasize their theme, such as: symbolism, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony
Examples of theme:
Love is Blind
Believe in yourself
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover
People are afraid of change
