5 Elements of a Short Story

5 Elements

of a

Short Story

But first what is a short story?

A few give aways....

-Can read in one sitting

-prose or made up

-Few Characters

-one major conflict

-teaches a life lesson

Got it?

now lets get started!

PLOT

The structure/order

of events in the story

based around the

conflict within

PLOT LINE

lets break it down, shall we?

SETTING

the details about

where the story

takes place

and what its like

to be there

time

place

mood

weather

social

Characters

vs.

character kinds:

Characterization

Direct

the author intentionally

tells us their motives,

thoughts, appearance, and

other important facts

for example the author may say...

Tom was a handsome fellow with hair trimmed short

and eyes that could kill.

or maybe...

cynthia loved making people smile and telling jokes

indirect

instead of telling us about

the character, we learn about

them by how they act, what they

say, and what others say

about them.

Conflict

THEME

clear your

desks of all

except for

a pencil...

And ace this...

POp quiz!!!

tense

past, present, future

part of day

Morning, noon, night

Season

type of location

character living conditions

summer, spring, autumn, winter

poor, rich, oppressed, royalty

city, town, country

may be very specific like

on a rooftop

in a tree

even in someone's mind

how you feel

how is it outside?

rainy, sunny, cloudy

upbeat, scared, desperate

people in the story,

both

major and minor

Remember this???

people, animals, or objects carrying out the action

minor characters

main characters

These characters are stereotypes

antagonist

protagonist

• referred to as good guys
• character facing a conflict
• drives the action in the story
• ends up learning the lesson

• referred to as the bad guy
• causes the problems
• only cares for themselves
• sometimes learns lesson too

they are only there to add to the

readers understanding of the:

- plot - main characters - setting -

for example:

• a villain has their henchmen to make them tough
• a village needs tribal citizens to make it believable
• a doctor informs us of the character condition
• a hero needs a sidekick to help them overcome

This is how the author informs the reader about the characters.

Static dynamic

that directly tells us her personality

This directly tells us his appearance

vs

-keeps same opinions

-learns no lesson

-never changes side

-finishes how they started

-alters their opinions

-learns a lesson

-changes personality

-ends differently then

they started

round

Flat

for example:

"Oh my goodness! Tammi gets on my nerves so much!

SHe is always so rude!" elizabeth said.

this lets us know the character tammi

is annoying and rude.

or...

He began to sweat when nyasia walked in.

he tried to speak but couldn't. all he could

do was smile.

we indirectly learn he has a crush on nyasia

vs

-don't know much about them

-very few character traits

-vague or broad

-learn a lot about them

-tons of traits

-details

internal external

other characters, the environment, or

living conditions cause the character problems

character is struggling with their

thoughts, feelings, or decisions.

NOW that

you have

learned

all of the

elements...

man vs supernatural

man vs nature

man vs society

man vs self

man vs man

man vs obstacle

always work together.

don't judge a book by its cover.

love is worth fighting for.

stay true to yourself.

never give up.

sometimes the answer is right under your nose.

a phrase that

sums up the lesson

of a story

keep shooting for your dreams.

Look before you leap.

sharing is caring.

you have to work for what you want in life.