Elements of short stories

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Plot Action or series of events in a story. A roadmap for the story. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Stages of plot Exposition – the part of a story in which the setting and the main characters are made known. Climax – the moment of greatest excitement in a story. Resolution – the final outcome of a conflict. Rising action – the events leading to the climax. Falling action – the events after the climax leading to the resolution. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Complication Events that make a situation more difficult. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Suspense Excitement felt while waiting to see how a situation will turn out. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Characterization The people in a narrative or drama. Round – A character who has many, often contradictory, qualities; sometimes called three-dimensional. Flat – A character who is presented with a single or very limited set of qualities, sometimes called two-dimensional. Protagonist - who takes the leading part in a drama, story, or novel Antagonist - one that opposes another 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Examples Protagonist – Snow White Antagonist - Queen 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Conflict The problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action. Person vs. Person Person vs. Society Person vs. Self Person vs. Nature Person vs. Fate 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Examples Person vs. Person – Snow White/Queen Person vs. Society – Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans and Wil Smith in Pursuit of Happyness Person vs. Self – Rudy, could also be Wil Smith in Pursuit of Happyness 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Other Examples Person vs. Nature Person vs. Fate 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Conflict In other words, conflict can be external of internal. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Theme The abstract concept that is embodied in and expanded upon in a work of literature. It is made evident through the action, the characters and the images. Statement about life that a writer is trying to get across. Often it is implied. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Setting The physical location of the events in a narration. Setting may include the geographical location, the socioeconomic background, the historical period, and the cultural environment. The time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Point of View The outlook from which the events in a novel or story are related. The vantage point from which the story is told. Omniscient – all knowing Limited Omniscient – one character Camera View (objective) – storyteller speaks from his own point of view, and is unaware of the other characters’ thoughts or feelings 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Foreshadowing use of clues to hint at event that will occur later in the plot or story. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Tone The overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of words. This feeling may be serious, humorous, or satiric. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Imagery Concrete sensory description, frequently extended to nonsensory objects; language that appeals to the senses 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Symbol Person, place thing or event that stands both for itself and something beyond itself 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Allusion Reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science or the arts 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Irony Occurs when an effect is produced that is different form what might have been expected. In verbal irony, the intended meaning of words contrasts sharply with their literal meaning. In dramatic irony, the audience or reader knows something that the character does not; therefore, speeches and actions are understood differently by the audience than by the characters. In fiction, irony is often produced when the actions of a character lead that character progressively further away form a desired goal. 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Metaphor Comparing two opposite things without using the words “like” or “as” 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com

Free Template from www.brainybetty.com Simile Comparing two things using the words “like” or “as” 5/1/2019 Free Template from www.brainybetty.com