Story Elements
Story
What do we need to make a story?
 Setting – The time and place a story takes place.
 Characters – the people, animals or creatures in a story.
 Plot – the series of events that make up a story.
 Conflict – a problem or struggle between two people, things or ideas.
Setting
What is setting?
• The setting describes where and
when the story takes place.
• It helps build background and create images in the mind.
• It helps set the tone or mood of the story.
Aspects of a story’s setting
1. Place – geographical location.
Where does the action of the story take
place?
Aspects of a story’s setting
2. Time – When is the story
taking place? (Ex: in ancient Egypt,
in the 1960s, during present day)
Aspects of a story’s setting
3. Weather conditions – Is it rainy,
sunny, stormy, etc?
Aspects of a story’s setting
4. Social conditions – What is the
daily life of the character like? The story
may contain local color (writing that focuses on the speech,
dress, mannerisms, or customs of a particular place)
Aspects of a story’s setting
5. Mood or atmosphere – What
feeling is created at the beginning of
the story? Bright and cheerful? Dark and
frightening?
How is setting created?
• A good setting helps the reader visualize the places in the
story.
• A good author includes descriptions of the setting using
the five senses…
•
•
•
•
•
SIGHT
SMELL
TASTE
FEEL
SOUND
Take a Look…Which is better?
The castle
was beside
the water.
OR…
The waves crashed loudly against the shoreline. The
fog lifted lightly and the medieval castle came into
view. It was a beautiful site! The fog brushed my
face and I could smell the smoke from the fire in the
distance and taste the sea salt on my lips.
Your Turn…
• On the next slide, there is a picture of a setting.
• In your own words, write a detailed description of
the setting in this picture.
• What do you see, smell, taste, touch, and feel? Use
many adjectives!
When I walk onto the beach I….
see smell hear taste feel
CHARACTERS
EVERY STORY NEEDS CHARACTERS…
Animals
People
Or Creatures
THE PROTAGONIST IS THE “GOOD GUY”
AND THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE STORY
THE ANTAGONIST IS THE “BAD GUY” OR FORCE
CHARACTERIZATION
Characterization is the way in which an
author shows the personality of a
character
•Writers
use characterization to make
characters “come to life.”
CHARACTERIZATION
There are two types of characterization.
Direct Characterization: when a writer tells
you directly about a character.
Ex.: Sidney Crosby is very competitive.
CHARACTERIZATION
Indirect Characterization: when a writer gives
you clues about a character through writing
Ex: In the final two minutes, Crosby gathered his
teammates and laid out his plan. He looked at
them and said, “We are going to win this one. No
excuses.” He then pounded their chest pads and
skated onto the ice.
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
In indirect characterization, there are five ways an author gives the
reader clues about a character’s personality.
1. What the character DOES
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
In indirect characterization, there are five ways an author gives the
reader clues about a character’s personality.
2. What the character SAYS
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
In indirect characterization, there are five ways an author gives the
reader clues about a character’s personality.
3. What the character LOOKS LIKE
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
In indirect characterization, there are five ways an author gives the
reader clues about a character’s personality.
4. What the character THINKS
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
In indirect characterization, there are five ways an author gives the
reader clues about a character’s personality.
5. How other characters react to him or her
CHARACTER TRAITS
WE USE CHARACTER TRAITS TO DESCRIBE SPECIFIC
QUALITIES OF A CHARACTER
•Honest
•Light-hearted
•Leader
•Expert
•Brave
•Conceited
•Mischievous
•Demanding
•Thoughtful
•Keen
•Happy
•Disagreeable
•Simple
•Fancy
•Plain
•Excited
•Studious
•Inventive
•Creative
•Thrilling
•Independent
•Intelligent
•Compassionate
•Gentle
•Proud
•Wild
•Messy
•Neat
•Joyful
•Strong
•Bright
•Courageous
•Serious
•Funny
•Humorous
•Sad
•Poor
•Rich
•Tall
•Dark
•Light
•Handsome
•Pretty
•Ugly
•Selfish
•Unselfish
•Self-confident
•Respectful
•Considerate
•Imaginative
•Busy
•Patriotic
•Fun-loving
•Popular
•Successful
•Responsible
•Lazy
•Dreamer
•Helpful
•Simpleminded
•Humble
•Friendly
•Short
•Adventurous
•Hard-working
•Timid
•Shy
•Bold
•Daring
•Dainty
•Pitiful
•Cooperative
•Lovable
•Prim
•Proper
•Ambitious
•Able
•Quiet
•Curious
•Reserved
•Pleasing
•Bossy
•Witty
•Fighter
•Tireless
•Energetic
•Cheerful
•Smart
•Impulsive
•Loyal
YOUR TURN…
Think of a character from a book, movie, or
TV show.
 Name the character
 Give the character one trait
 Give two examples why that trait fits that
character
 Remember…what does the character do, what
does he say, what does he think, how does he
look, and how do others react to him?
Plot
Plot is the…
Organized sequence of events that
make up a story.
• What happens to the characters
in the story – the events and
actions within a story and how they
link together.
Plot Diagram
2
1
3
4
5
1. Exposition
•
•
•
•
Usually near the beginning of a story.
Characters are introduced.
We learn about the setting.
Most importantly, we are introduced to the main
conflict (main problem).
2. Rising Action
• Develops the conflict(s) with
details.
• Builds interest or suspense.
3. Climax
• Turning point of the story—the most exciting
part!
• Main character comes face to face with a conflict.
• Most of the time, the main character will change
in some way.
4. Falling Action
• All of the action
after the climax
5. Resolution
• Story comes to a reasonable ending
• Ties together loose
ends, sometimes telling
us the theme.
Special Techniques of Plot…
Suspense- excitement or tension
Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of
events to tell about something that happened in
the past
Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does
not expect
And…Foreshadowing…
A hint about what will happen next is
called foreshadowing
In Jaws, what hear music…and this music is
foreshadowing. Someone is about to be eaten!
Your Turn…
• Let’s put these scenes from Cinderella into a plot diagram.
Cinderella’s fairy godmother grants her
wishes, and she goes to the ball. She meets
the prince!
Cinderella marries the prince, and they
live happily ever after.
Cinderella’s father dies and she
has to live with her stepmother
and stepsisters.
Cinderella has the other glass slipper!
She tries it on, and it fits!
The prince’s advisors tell the prince
that Cinderella had the glass slipper
and it fit.

Conflict is the “battle”
between two forces.

Without conflict, there
is no PLOT

Conflict isn’t always
bad..sometimes it helps
to create change.
1. Character vs. Character: A character
battles another character
2. Character vs. Nature: A
character battles against nature
3. Character vs. Society: A character has a
conflict with a larger group, such as a
community, culture or society
4. Character vs. Self: a character struggles with
internal conflicts
Write down the CONFLICT or conflicts in the following
stories, nursery rhymes, or movies:
Cinderella
The Three Little Pigs
Into the Storm
Frozen
Then, can you come up with examples for these conflicts:
Character vs. Character
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Self?
Point of view is the vantage point
from which the story is told.
This author’s choice of narrator
determines the amount of
information a reader will
receive.
1. First Person: The narrator
is a character in the story
who observes and reports
the action.
• Ex: “I saw a purple horse.”
“We went to the game.”
“Our team won the
tournament.”
I will
tell
you
my
story
2. Third person: The narrator is an
outsider; not a character in the story.
Ex.: She picked up the glass of water and
threw it on John.
Justin Bieber accepted his award then
danced off the stage.
Third Person Limited: the narrator focuses on the thoughts
and feelings of only one character. The reader observes the
action through the eyes and feelings of just that character.
Third Person Omniscient: An outsider who knows
everything about all characters (even their problems and
their feelings!) tells the story. “God-like”
Write this in first person point of view:
1. She sat down on the couch, opened her favorite magazine, and
read a really funny story. It made her laugh hysterically!
What point of view is this an example of?
2. John rushed through his homework so that he could take a
walk with Kara. He thought Kara was perfect—kind, intelligent,
and always willing to play kickball when they needed another
person. He wanted to ask her to be his girlfriend, but he was too
scared. He hated how shy he was.
Theme: The message about
life or human nature that is
revealed in a story.
In other words…
Theme is the author’s
message. What is the
author trying to say
through his writing?
In most stories, the theme is not stated
directly. Instead, it is revealed to us
through the characters’ experiences.
Writers often express theme through what their characters
learn.
• Does the main character change?
• Does a character realize something
he or she did not know before?
• If you can answer these
questions…this might be the theme!
Keep the following guidelines in mind when you want to find
and state the theme of a work.
The theme is not the same thing as the subject.
• The subject is simply the topic. It can be stated in a single
word, such as loyalty.
• The theme makes some revelation about the subject and
should be expressed in a sentence:
• Ex: Loyalty to a leader is not always noble.
Money can’t buy happiness.
Don’t judge people based on the surface.
Quick Check
Stories
Match these familiar stories to
the appropriate theme.
Beauty and the Beast
The Three Little Pigs
The Ugly Duckling
A It pays to work hard and plan
ahead.
B Appearances can be deceiving.
Your Turn…
Once there was a mean little boy who lived in a
small village. This mean little boy loved to mess with
people, so one day he ran up to a sheep herder and
shouted, “WOLF! WOLF! A wolf is attacking the
town!” The sheep herder grabbed his staff and ran to
defend the town, but realized he had been fooled
when the boy started pointing and laughing at him.
“Ha ha! I made you jump,” said the boy. Then the
boy ran up to a farmer and shouted, “WOLF! WOLF! A
wolf is attacking the town!” The farmer grabbed his
pitchfork and ran to defend the town, but when the
boy started pointing and laughing at him, he realized
he had been tricked. As the boy went back to his
family’s farm laughing about the funny trick he played,
he saw a real wolf in his father’s chicken coop. As the
wolf ate all of his father’s chickens, the boy screamed
over and over again, “WOLF! WOLF! Please help us!”
But nobody came to help him.


Does the character realize something he or
she didn’t know before?
What lesson or message is the author trying
to show through this writing?
Don’t ask for help unless you really need it.
Don’t play tricks on the people around you.
Jenny Puchovier was so excited. She had a pack of
Starburst in her lunch and she had been looking
forward to eating them all morning. Lunch finally came
and Jenny sat down to eat her Starbursts when Judy sat
next to her. “Let me get the pink ones,” said Judy.
Jenny liked the pink ones best, but she thought Judy
was funny and Jenny wanted Judy to like her, so Jenny
gave Judy all of her pink Starbursts. Before Jenny was
done giving Judy the pink ones, Carrie sat on the other
side of Jenny. “Let me get the red and the orange ones,
Jenny. Remember when I gave you that Snickers?”
Jenny didn’t remember that, though she did remember
when Carrie ate a whole Snickers in front of her. Still,
Jenny thought Carrie was cool, so she gave her the red
and the orange Starbursts. Judy and Carrie then took
the Starbursts and left the table, leaving Jenny to eat by
herself.


Does the character realize something he or
she didn’t know before?
What lesson or message is the author trying
to show through this writing?
You can’t buy friends.
Be careful of people who want what you have.
Not everybody is your friend.