Short Stories

Elements of the Short Story

Setting 5 W’s What is the setting of your story? How did the author establish the setting? How is the setting important to the way the story is progressing? If you changed the setting of the story, would it drastically change the progression of plot? Why? If it would, in what way?

Character Character - representation of a person, place, or thing performing traditionally human activities or functions in a work of fiction Characterization - The choices an author makes to reveal a character’s personality, such as appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations.  Protagonist - The character the story revolves around. Antagonist - A character or force that opposes the protagonist. Character Foil- A character is portrayed as opposite of another character in a particular way in order to highlight the opposing traits. Minor character - Often provides support and illuminates the protagonist. Static character - A character that remains the same. One-Dimensional character (flat)- A character who lacks depth and who never seems to learn or grow. (Protagonist-negative; other characters- often useful Dynamic character - A character that changes in some important way.

Plot Exposition- necessary background information Rising action-the series of events that build up and create tension and suspense. Climax-the turning point where a decision is made or change occurs. The reader should know the outcome of the conflict and understand all the events leading up to the climax. Falling action- the series of events following the climax and leading to the resolution Resolution-The last part of your story should resolve any questions left after the climactic events take place, ending the conflict presented in the story.

Conflict The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story. The main character is usually on one side of the central conflict. On the other side, the main character may struggle against another important character, against the forces of nature, against society, or even against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).

Theme  The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave. In fiction, the theme is not presented directly. You extract it from the characters, action, and setting that make up the story. The writer's task is to communicate on a common ground with the reader. Although the particulars of your experience may be different from the details of the story, the general underlying truths behind the story may be just the connection that both you and your reader are seeking. Most novels actually have multiple themes that can be extracted.

Finding the Theme Keep the following guidelines in mind when you want to find and state the theme of a work. The theme is not the same thing as the subject The subject is simply the topic. It can be stated in a single word, such as loyalty. The theme makes some revelation about the subject and should be expressed in a sentence: “Loyalty to a leader is not always noble.”

Task You and a partner will write your own short story. Few specific requirements: Use the ‘Nano’ cards as part of the story length (2000 words), three clear plot components, protagonist and antagonist/foil, and use of dialogue. Due by 10pm on Wednesday, 10/11 (just one document per partner pair…use both last names as the submission title please).

Outline First You need to develop a proposal/outlines for your short story.  Outlines must include: Point of view of the story Summary a basic plot of the story (1 paragraph) Setting of the story including general time and place, and how the setting is important to the story (1 paragraph minimum) A description of at least 2 characters that would be involved (3-4 sentences each) Summary of the conflict of the story (1 paragraph minimum)

“EPICAC” by Kurt Vonnegut Identify the setting Identify the types of characters Identify the elements of plot What is the theme? What is the conflict?