1. Short Story Terms

2. plot
a series of related events, each event connected to the others

3. conflict
a struggle against some outside enemy or some internal problem

4. exposition From the word “expose” – to show; to reveal
3 things revealed or introduced
to the reader:
1) the setting
2) the characters
3) the conflict

5. rising action
the plot thickens
the conflict is fully shown

6. climax
the most intense moment in the plot

7. falling action
the conflict begins to settle but is not fully resolved

8. resolution
the end of the story
the conflict is resolved

9. denouement
literally “unraveling the knot”

10. foreshadowing
hints in the beginning of the story about what will happen later in the story

11. internal conflict
a character’s struggle against inner problems such as fear or anger

12. external conflict
a character’s struggle against something outside of him or herself