elements of a short story definition of a short story tells about a single event or experience...

Elements of a Short Story

Definition of a Short Story

Tells about a single event or experience Fictional (not true)500 to 15,000 words in lengthIt has a beginning, middle, and endCreates an impression on the reader

Elements of a Short Story

PlotSettingCharacterPoint of viewConflictThemeMood

Short Story Vocabulary

Plot: A series of events through which the writer reveals what is happening, to whom, and why.

Short Story Vocabulary

Setting:Tells the reader where and when the story takes place.

Short Story Vocabulary

Characterization: Creation of imaginary people who appear to be real to the reader. The writer gives information about the characters in the story.

Character

• Protagonist– Main character in the

story; central figure in a story’s conflict

• Antagonist– Opposing force to the

main character; can be a person or thing

character

• Flat– A minor character

who does not change; a one dimensional person

• Round– A fully developed

character with lots of traits

Short Story Vocabulary

Point of view: The position of the narrator of the story and what the writer sees from that vantage point.

Point of view

• 1st: the person is telling his or her own story and is in the story. “I” or “we” is used. – The reader is limited

to only what the narrator knows or tells us

Point of view

• 3rd omniscient:– We can see

everything going on in everyone’s mind at any time.

Point of view

• 3rd limited:– We can see what’s

going on only in one person’s mind (but we are still outside of it). “he” or “she” is used.

Short Story Vocabulary

Conflict: A problem in the story that needs to be resolved.

Internal Conflict

• Man vs. Self– Mental or

emotional struggle that occurs within a character

External Conflict

• Character struggles with an outside force or problem.

Types of External Conflicts

• Man vs. Man

• Man vs. Nature

• Man vs. Society

• Man vs. Fate

Theme

Theme: The story’s main ideas. The “message” the writer intends to communicate by telling the story.

Mood

• Mood:

• In literature, the mood of a story is the atmosphere of the story. A love story might have a dramatic atmosphere, while a horror story might have a tense, fearful mood.

Great writers are able to use the elements of the short story with such precision that the reader is caught up in the action of the story. This is a mark of a good story and our goal as a writer.