Short Story Elements
Setting, Character, Theme,
Conflict, Point of View, and Plot
Setting
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The setting is the time and location in which a
story takes place
There are several aspects of a story’s setting to
consider when examining how setting
contributes to a story: place, time, weather
conditions, social conditions, mood or
atmosphere
Setting
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Place - geographical location
Time – when the story is taking place (historical
period, time of day, year, etc.)
Weather Conditions – is it raining, sunny,
stormy, etc
Social Conditions – what is the daily life of a
character like, does the writing focus of speech,
dress, mannerisms, customs, etc.?
Mood or Atmosphere – what feeling is portrayed,
bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?
Character
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There are two meanings for the word
character:
1) the person in a work of fiction
2) the characteristics of a person
Character
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Persons in a work of fiction
Antagonist and Protagonist
Protagonist is the character at the center of the
story with all the major events having some
importance to this character
Antagonist is the opposer of the main character
Character
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The characteristics of a person
In order for a story to seem real, the characters
must seem real
The author must show the character is several
ways
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His/her physical appearance
What he/she says, thinks, feels, and dreams
What he/she does or does not do
What others say about him/her and how others
react to him/her
Character
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Characters are…
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Dynamic – many sided personalities that change,
for better or worse, by the end of the story
Static – stereotype, have one or two characteristics
that never change and are emphasized (brilliant
detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.)
Theme
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Theme is the story’s controlling idea or central
insight. The author’s underlying meaning or
main idea that he is trying to convey.
The title usually points to what the writer is
saying and may use various figures of speech
to emphasize the theme (symbol, allusion,
simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony).
Theme
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Common themes from literature, film and TV
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Things are not always what they seem
Love is blind
Believe in yourself
People are afraid of change
Don’t judge a book by its cover
Conflict
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Conflict is essential to the plot, without it
there is no story
It is the opposition of forces which ties one
incident to another and makes the plot move
Conflict
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There are two types of conflict
1)
2)
External – a struggle with a force outside one’s
self
Internal – a struggle within one’s self; a person
must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet
their temper, resist an urge, etc.
Conflict
There are four kinds of conflict
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1)
2)
3)
4)
Man vs. Man (external) – a character struggles against
another character (verbal or physical)
Man vs. Nature (external) – a character struggles against
fate, weather, animals, etc.
Man vs. Society (external) – main character struggles
against ideas, practices, or customs of other people
Man vs. Himself/Herself (internal) – main character
struggles with themselves; with their own soul, ideas of
right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.
Point of View
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Defined as the angle from which a story is told
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Innocent Eye - the story is told through the eyes
of a child (their judgment being different from that
of an adult)
Stream of Consciousness – the story is told so
that the reader feels as is they are inside the head
of one character and knows all their thought and
reactions
Point of View
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First Person – the reader sees the story through this
person’s eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows
what that character knows and feels (uses pronouns I,
me, we, etc.)
Third Person - told by a narrator who is merely
conveying a story, but not a character of any kind
within the story being told (uses he, she, it, or they;
but never as I or we [first-person], or you [secondperson])
Point of View
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Limited Third Person - storytelling in which
the narrator knows only the thoughts and
feelings of a single character, while other
characters are presented externally
Omniscient - author can move from character
to character, event to event, having free access
to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his
characters and he introduces information
where and when he chooses
Plot
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Author arranges events to develop his basic
ideas
Planned, logical series of events having a
beginning, middle, and end
Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling
Action, and Resolution
Plot
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Climax is a three-fold phenomenon
1)
2)
3)
Main character receives new information
He/she accepts this information (realizes it but
does not necessarily agree with it)
Then character acts on this information (makes a
choice that will determine whether or not he/she
gains his objective)
Bibliography
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Ms. Engram
http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/elements.
html
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About.com: fiction writing