Elements of a Short Story

A Short Story is a brief narrative that contains a SINGLE plot, a

SINGLE protagonist, and a SINGLE main conflict to be

resolved.

In Brief: Plot

The “plot” of a story is the logical linking of one event to the next

Done properly, a plot should help to build tension within a story, engaging the reader’s interest, and heightening their excitement in the story

In Brief: Characters

A story may (or may not) contain a huge number of characters serving different roles within the narrative. A Short Story MUST however have the following:

A main character – called a Protagonist

A source of conflict – called an Antagonist

Other characters or friends of the protagonist – called a confidante

In Brief: TAP & Tone

A Story must include a setting, to firmly give it a place in the reader’s imagination. This is called TAP

T – Time

A – Atmosphere

P – Place

TONE is the emotional content of the words the author uses

In Brief: Conflict

Conflict is the engine which powers your story forward. A story without conflict has no momentum, no sense that events are moving towards something. Conflict can take many forms, most commonly:

Man vs Man

Man vs Himself

Man vs Nature

Man vs Society

The Plot Graph (Freytag’s Pyramid)

Crisis

The Plot of your own story can be easily arranged into a Plot Graph. This helps to engage the reader by building the tension of a story in a predictable way. A plot graph will contain seven major moments, with specific story points that occur at each

The Beginning (Exposition)

The first lines of your story

Depending on the author’s style, this may be several words to several paragraphs in length

The SETTING is described, and the PROTAGONIST is introduced

…but nothing is happening, and our reader is quickly losing interest!

1

Inciting Force

Our source of conflict (also called the ANTAGONIST is encountered.

The growing tension between Protagonist and Antagonist will be the tool that holds our reader’s attention

1 2

Rising Action

As our Protagonist and Antagonist continue to have conflict, the tension must continue to rise

This helps the story build it’s emotion and intensity towards a predictable and satisfying conclusion

12

3

Crisis (The Point of No Return)

•Eventually, the conflict will build to a moment where our Protagonist and Antagonist must meet, and the conflict must be resolved once and for all

•This is called the Crisis, the point of no return for our characters

12

3

4

Climax

The highest point of tension within a story

The final showdown between our Protagonist and Antagonist. One way or another, the conflict must be resolved here

1 2

3

45

Falling Action

Our conflict has been resolved! However, if we end the story here, we risk alienating our reader

As we have built up the tension, we must now ease down the intensity, and tie up loose ends

3

45

6

Resolution

The end of the story. If a twist ending is to be inserted, it must be placed at this point (and not sooner)

5

67

Flashbacks

The system works in most situations, however it will not work in a story that makes use of repeated flashbacks, or flashforwards