Short Stories: The Breakdown
I remember one of my English teachers taught me an easy way to break down the plot. He told me to remember it as a ZIT, or a pimple. It sounds weird I know, but think about it! There are three stages or a pimple. You have clear skin, then the rise of a pimple (you pop it), and then it goes down. This is commonly known as the plot diagram.
- Exposition is the introduction to the story, characters, setting, and the conflict.
- As the conflict is being introduced, tension rises, as the characters try to solve the problem. This is called Rising Action.
- Climax is the highest point of interest in the story. It's the point in the story where it's really suspenseful.
- Falling action is everything that happens after the climax.
- Resolution follow the falling action. It's the point in the story when everything is resolved.
- CHARACTERS -
Characters in short stories are people and/or animals who take part in the events. They can be described by their actions, words, or their interactions with other characters in the story. Author's can use Direct or Indirect characterization to tell about a character.
- SETTING -
The setting of a story is where and when a story takes place.
Where?The "where" action takes place can be a region, country, state, town, or even the type of environment. This includes social, economic, or cultural.
When? The "when" of a story is the time frame, or the period in which the actions takes place. This includes past, present, failure, or a specific year, season, or time of day.
- POINT OF VIEW -
Point of view just means who is telling the story. If it is 1st person narration, it means the storyteller is a character in the book, who usually refers to themselves as "I". If it is 3rd person narration, the storyteller is telling the story, but they are not a character in the book.
- THEME -
The theme of a short story is the central "message" that the author is trying to reveal to the reader. In some stories, like fables, you have "morals", and they state directly what the theme is.
Most stories only imply the theme, and it is up to the reader to draw conclusions based on the stories' events.
All of these things are the elements that make up short stories. When put together, you can have your reader's travel to fictional fantasy's, meet characters, and tap into their imagination in ways only stories can.
Published by Shante Renee
I love writing and I think it's time people heard what I have to say, and making some extra money is great! View profile
Point of View in "A Night to Remember"A Night to Remember is an incredibly powerful novel, but if we truly wish to understand the significance of it's many literary elements, and what makes it a classic, it is very...
Thanksgiving from a Child's Point of ViewEvery year our local newspaper "The Ranger Review" runs articles about different aspects of the holidays from a child's point of view.- Why Did Obama Win and Not McCain? - from an Astrology Point of ViewWhat was in Obama's Chinese 8 Characters that gave him a edge over McCain? Discover from an astrological point of view,why did Obama win instead of McCain...
- Writing in the First Person Point of ViewFirst person point of view is probably the most natural storytelling voice for fiction. Writing in first person POV doesn't mean that there has to be a direct one-to-one correspondence between the writer and character.
- Understanding Point of View in LiteratureThere are traditionally four types of literary point of view. But in fact there is really a fifth.
- Setting the Mood in Your Short Story
- A Writer's Guide to Acting: How to Use Setting when Creating a Character, Part I
- Point of View - Creating a Relationship Between Readers and Characters
- Alice Munro's Runaway Short Story Collection is a Runaway Hit
- Tips for Authors: Writing Realistic Characters
- How to Create Setting in Fiction
- The Importance of Setting in The Wind in the Willows