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Writing a Short Story Mythological Myth
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Some Literary Terms Narrative: A spoken or written account of connected events; a story. Medium: The platform that gives eminence to the narrative; cinema, television, play [on stage], a published work, etc. Form: The TYPE/STYLE of writing, i.e. Novel, Novella, Short Story, Poem, Essay, Drama (on stage), etc. Genre: The approach of a specific form, i.e. Thriller, Suspense, Romance, Horror, Comedy, Melodrama, Mystery, Parody, Satire, Science-fiction, etc.
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Literary Form The Novel - a fictional prose narrative of considerable length, containing a plot that may accommodate various themes, messages and many characters. The Novella - a fictional prose narrative of intermediate length, in other words, a novel with less words, themes and characters. The Legend - a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated The Anecdote - a short and amusing (or interesting) account of a real incident. The Epigram - a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. (Wikipedia) For example: Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The Essay - an author’s point of view presented without a plot and demonstrations by characters. It is a short piece of writing on a particular subject that gives the author’s point of view. The Short Story - a narrative with a specific structure and dynamic components. It is an author’s point of view on ONE specific theme (topic/subject/issue), but plotted and demonstrated by fictional characters.
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Important Elements in a Short Story
Setting: Time and place in which events happen. Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, seasons or weather to provide a strong setting Conflict : A struggle between two opposing forces. Theme: The main subject or recurring idea that is being discussed or described in a piece of writing: heroïsim, love, generosity, faith, fate, sacrifice etc. Mytholodgy Theme Tone: It is reflective of the author’s mood as he is writing. Every adjective and adverb you use, your sentence structure, and the imagery you use will show your tone.The tone in a story can be joyful, serious, humorous, sad, threatening, formal, informal, pessimistic and optimistic. Example of Tone in a Story
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What You Need To Know A short story should be a SHORT story in order to meet its purpose, words. The Short Story demands action – showing, acting, demonstrating - and NOT telling. The short story allows no unnecessary description or dialogue. Every word that describes background and characters, and every word spoken by the characters, must be imperative to the theme. When describing, grammatical rules apply. Spelling and the construction of sentences and paragraphs should be neat and telling.
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Character’s in a Short Story
PROTAGONIST The word protagonist originally came from the Greek language and in Greek drama which refers to the person who led the chorus. In literary terms, the protagonist is the central character or leading figure. Sometimes know as hero or heroine. ANTAGONIST The word antagonist comes from Greek word “antagonistēs” that means opponent, competitor or rival. In literature, an antagonist is a character or a group of characters that actively opposes the protagonist or the central character.
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First Person Point of View
This is where the story is told through a main character’s eyes. The story is told using the first person personal pronoun such as I, me, we or us.
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Third Person Point of View
OMNISCIENT The narrator is not a character in the story. The narrator knows the thoughts and the feelings of ALL the characters in the story. The writer may bring to life an entire world of characters. LIMITED The narrator is not a character in the story. The narrator adheres to only ONE character’s perspective. As readers, we only know the thoughts and the feelings of one character’s perspective.
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Structure of a Short Story
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The INTRODUCTION of the background, the theme and characters
-The first paragraph is the most important part of the story. -It is the lure to seduce your reader, capture their attention. -The readers of a short story want instantaneous divertissement, a moment to escape out of their own reality; they want action. Beginning The INTRODUCTION of the background, the theme and characters
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The development via a chain of events
-It is the longest part of the story. -The tension should increase as complications occur. -The characters change and grow as they deal with conflicts they face. -The story evolves towards a major crisis or climax. Middle The development via a chain of events
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Falling Action and Conclusion
-The main conflict is resolved and the loose ends are tied up. -The message of the author wants to pass on becomes clearly perceivable. -In a Greek myth, there is usually a lesson to learn. End Falling Action and Conclusion
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Interesting WEB Sites Myth Stories The Writing Place
The Character of a Short Story Character Trait Checklist Thesaurus Dictionnary
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