1. The Short Story

2. Elements of a Short Story
Setting
Time
Place
Establishes the mood

3. Setting The Time “Once upon a time….” This can include the
historical period,
time of day,
time of year, etc.

4. Setting The Place “…in a wee little shack…”
What is the geographical location?
What is the climate or weather?
Where is the story taking place?

5. Setting Mood         
What feeling or atmosphere is created at the beginning of the story?
How does the author create the mood?
        

6. Characters “…there lived 3 Bears”
The people, animals, or imaginary creatures
that act out the events of the story
“..One was a Mama bear, one was a Papa bear and one was a wee bear”

7. An author develops and reveals a character through describing….
Appearance (What they look like)
Personality
Speech (How they talk – What they say)
Actions (what they do)
Thoughts & Feelings
Interactions with other characters

8. Characterization Direct characterization Indirect characterization
When the author tells what the character is like. No inference needed.
Indirect characterization
The writer shows what the character is like. The reader must often draw conclusions (infer) based on
What the character says & does
What the character looks like
What other characters say and how they respond

9. Plot A C T I O N The action or sequence of events in a story
“ One day they went a-walkin’ and a-stalkin’ through the forest came a girl with long hair.”

10. Plot There are 5 parts to a plot Exposition Rising action Climax
Falling action
Resolution
See the power point on Plot for more detail.

11. Theme
The Big Idea…..
This is the statement about life that the author wants you to know.
It is stated as a sentence, not a word or two.
It is true for all people, in any place and in any time. (universal)

12. Theme The Big Idea….. Sometimes clearly stated
Most of the time the reader must make inferences based on how the main character changes or resolves the conflict.

13. Point of View The vantage point from which the story is told
The narrator speaks in:
1st Person = I, me, us, we, mine
told by one of the characters
2nd Person = you, your, yours
narrator is speaking directly to the reader (not often used in narratives)
3rd Person = he, they, she, them
told by a narrator outside the story.
(see ppt on point of view for more detail)

14. An author’s point of view is also stated as his or her
This is different
From the narrator’s point of view.
An author’s point of view is also stated as his or her
VIEWPOINT or opinion
What ever the type of writing, the author is sharing his or her opinions or ideas about a topic or theme.

15. Conflict A struggle between the character and some outside force.
There is no story without a conflict.
The protagonist must have an adversary (antagonist) or a problem to solve.

16. There are 2 kinds of conflict
Internal conflict
External conflict

17. Internal Conflict Character vs. self
ex: making a decision or experiencing strong emotions
External Conflict
Character vs character
Character vs nature
Character vs society
(See Conflice PPT for detail)