Short Story

Learning Procedures

• Warming-Up: Story Chaining• The Basics of Short Story

Story Chaining

simultaneous, humiliate, dread, apron, linger

frown, eagle, abnormal, UFO, socks, futile

faint, safe and sound, friends and foes,

cuddle, sob, beard, rice cooker, bikini

stare, conceited, scold, beach, Superman

What is a Short Story?

• A brief, imaginative narrative containing few characters, simple plot, conflict, and suspense which leads to a climax and a swift conclusion.

Key Elements

Typically short story has four key elements – Character (fewer is better), Setting (brief but poetic and vivid), Plot (as interesting as possible), and Theme (relating to majority of readers).

Character

• Character – Any personalities who are involved in the plot of the story (people, animals, fantasy characters)

• Usually less than 6 in a short story

Character

• Types of Characters:– Round- fully developed, has many different

character traits– Flat- stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits– Static – Does not change – Dynamic – Changes as a result of the story's

events

Characterization

• How the author develops the characters, especially the main character.

• This is done through:– what the character does or says– what others say of and to the character– author’s word choice in descriptive passages

Characterization

• Direct characterization– The author directly states what the character’s

personality is like. Example: cruel, kind

• Indirect characterization– Showing a character’s personality through

his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance or other character’s observations or reactions

PROTAGONIST

• Usually the “good guy” or hero in the story

• The main character that we follow

• The character that strives to solve the conflict

ANTAGONIST

• The “bad guy” or villain in the story• Usually creates conflict for the main character

• Types of antagonists:– people– nature– society

Setting

• The time and place of the story’s action

includes the following:– The geographical location

• For example: London, Cairo, Vancouver

– The time period• For example: 1865, during WWII, today

– The socio-economic characteristics of the location• For example: wealthy suburbs

– The specific building, room etc.• For example: a log cabin, a bus, a military base

Let’s play a game. 

• Imagine a room.  Take a moment to form a mental picture of this room.

• Okay, now what if I tell you that the room is a restaurant kitchen?  Did your mental picture just change?

• What if I tell you that the restaurant’s closed for the night, and the kitchen is dark except for the streetlamp shining in the back window.  Did your mental picture just change again?

• Using specific details in your writing will guide the reader’s imagination, helping the reader to imagine a scene the way you have imagined it yourself.

• [1] A nurse guided us to a room where my best friend, my grandpa, was lying on a bed. My father was sitting sadly beside grandpa’s bed.

• [2] A nurse guided us to a room. After a long week gap I saw my grandpa — my best friend. Grandpa was sleeping peacefully on hospital bed. There were many small TV and radio alike boxes with tiny lights. Few boxes were making “beep-beep” sound in rhythm. I knew that the sound was fading heart beats of my best friend — my grandpa. Then I saw my father, with red and swollen eyes, sitting closure to grandpa’s bed.

What is the Plot?

Plot is how the author arranges events to develop his/her basic idea. It is the sequence of events in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle and end.

Introduction

Introduces the reader to:• Setting• Characters involved• Narrative Hook: question or statement that

grabs the reader’s attention

Inciting Incident

• The first major action in the story that sets the story in motion (gets the ball rolling).

Rising Action

Incidents which carry the plot along. It often

includes the following:• Foreshadowing• Flashback• Conflict• Suspense

FORESHADOWING

• A technique for hinting at events that may occur later in the plot.

FLASHBACK

• The insertion of an earlier event into the time order of a narrative.

Conflict

• It is what prevents the main character from getting what he or she wants

• The plot is driven by climax and it is THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE STORY

• There are two types of conflicts: Internal and External

Plot: Types of Conflict

Interpersonal Conflict• Human vs. Human• Human vs. Nature• Human vs. Society

Internal Conflict• Human vs. Self

SUSPENSE

• The feeling of excitement and curiosity that keeps the reader turning the pages; created by making the readers wonder how the conflict will be resolved

Climax

• The turning point in the story: the high point of interest and suspense

Rising Action or Complications Falling Action

Climax

Falling Action

• All events following the climax or turning point in the story. These events are a result of the action taken at the climax.

Resolution

• The end of the central conflict: it shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose ends

Point of View

• Vantage point from which the writer tells the story.– First person- One of the characters is actually

telling the story using the pronoun “I”– Third person- Centers on one character’s

thoughts and actions.– Omniscient- All knowing narrator. Can center

on the thoughts any actions of any and all characters.

Theme

• Theme is the “main idea” or central message of the story. It usually contains some insight into the human condition – telling something about humans and life.

• The theme can be stated directly or implied by the events and actions in the story.

Summary

Character (flat, round, static, dynamic)

Setting

Plot (Introduction/Exposition, Inciting incident, Rising action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution) Rising action (foreshadowing, flashback, conflict, suspense)

Theme