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