Story ElementsMost are common to short stories and
novels!
Setting- where the story takes place- includes the following:
geographical locationtime periodsocio-economic characteristics of the locationspecific building, room etc.
- Can be used to tell readers about the characters- Can be used to set the atmosphere for the story
CharactersThe people (or animals, things, etc. presented as people) appearing in a literary work.
Round Characters: convincing, true to life; different, sometimes contradictory personality traits
Dynamic Characters: change and develop
Flat Characters: stereotyped, shallow, and often symbolic
Static Characters: do not change
Plot
- sequence of events in a story or - planned, logical series of events having a beginning,
middle and end
Plot ComponentsIntroduction: start of the story
Rising Action: series of conflicts and
Climax / Turning Point: The most intense moment, either mentally or in action
Falling Action: events and complications begin to resolve themselves
Resolution: the untangling of events in the story
Plot: ConflictConflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict there is no plot.
Plot: Types of ConflictExternal ConflictHuman vs. HumanHuman vs. NatureHuman vs. SocietyHuman vs. Fate or the
Supernatural
Internal ConflictHuman vs. Self
Point of View
The angle or perspective from which the story is told
Who is telling the story?For instance, is it a player on the home team
or someone watching the game?How do we know what is happening?
For instance, does a character tell us?
First Person Point of View
Told from the viewpoint of one of the characters, using the first person pronoun “I”.
Innocent Eye: The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being different from that of an adult).
Stream of Consciousness: The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
Second PersonThe main character in the story is referred to
using the second person pronoun “you”.
Third PersonThe story is told using a narrator who is
located outside of the action of the story and uses third person pronouns such as “he”, “she”, “his”, “her”, “they” etc.
• Omniscient• Limited Omniscient• Objective
3rd Person Limited OmniscientThird person, told from the viewpoint of a character in the story.
3rd Person ObjectiveThird person, told as if from a camera that follows the characters. Only what is said and done is recorded.
3rd Person OmniscientThe narrator has the power to show thereader what is happening though a
numberof characters’ eyes.
Types of IronyVerbal Irony: This is the contrast between
what is said and what is meant.
Dramatic Irony: This is the contrast between what the character thinks to be true and what we (the reader) know to be true.
Situational Irony: This is the most common in literature. It is the contrast between what happens and what was expected (or what would seem appropriate).
SymbolismA symbol represents an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself.
A journey can symbolize life
Water may representcleanliness and renewal
A lion can bea symbol of courage.
A red rosecan represent love.
Flashback
- goes back in time- giving the reader a memory- often used to provide additional information to the
reader
AllusionReference to a statement, person, a place, or
events from:LiteratureHistoryReligionMythologyPoliticsSports
ForeshadowingThis is a writers’ technique in which the author provides clues or hints as to what is going to happen later in the story. It’s like the music in a scary movie when we know that something bad is about to happen.
Style-the way a writer writesDiction: choice of words
Types of sentencesSimple, compound,
fragments
Use of stylistic devices and/or poetic language(metaphor, simile, etc.
and/or assonance, alliteration)
Tone
Theme
Rhetorical Devices
Point of View