Short StoriesShort StoriesWhat makes an effective What makes an effective

short story?short story?

Presentation and brain-based interactions developed by Heather Deal, JFMS, 2008

What is a short story?What is a short story?• Definition: a brief

work of fiction• Presents a sequence

of events• Deals with a central

conflict faced by a main character

• Communicates a message about life or human nature

What are the elements of a What are the elements of a short story?short story?

• Setting• Characters• Conflict• Plot• Theme

Setting is…Setting is…• Definition: The time

and place of the action in a story.

• Sometimes it serves as a backdrop to the story.

• At other times it can be the main source of the story’s conflict.

• Setting helps create the mood, or feeling, of the story.

Characters are…Characters are…• Definition: The people or

animals that take part in the action.

• Character traits are the qualities and attitudes that a character possesses. Examples: dependability and intelligence

• Character motives or motivation are the reasons for a character’s actions. Motives can come from internal causes, such as loneliness, or external causes, such as danger.

• Characterization: The way a writer reveals the characters. In direct characterization, the author simply states what they want you to know about the character. With indirect characterization, the author shows the character through the character’s words and actions.

Conflict is…Conflict is…• Definiton: a struggle

between opposing forces.• Internal conflict: takes

place in the mind of a character

• External conflict: takes place when a character struggles with another person or an outside force.

• Types of conflict: Man versus man, man versus self, and man versus nature, man versus society

Plot is…Plot is…• Definition: the sequence

of events in a story.• Interactive Plot

Diagram• Exposition introduces the

setting, the characters, and the situation.

• Rising Action introduces the conflict or problem and the first events.

• Climax is the turning point of the story.

• Falling Action is the part of the story when the conflict begins to lessen.

• Resolution is the story’s conclusion.

Theme is…Theme is…• Definition: the main

message expressed in a story.

• Theme may be stated (expressed directly by the author) or indirect (suggested by what happens to the characters).

• Universal theme is a repeating message about life that is expressed regularly across time and cultures. Examples: Hard work pays off in the end. Old age brings wisdom.

Literary Devices are…Literary Devices are…• Definition: tools that writers use

to make their stories more interesting, more lifelike, or more entertaining.

• Point of View is the perspective from which a story is told. First Person point of view presents the story from the perspective of a character in the story. Third person point of view tells the story from the perspective of a narrator outside the story. An omniscient third-person narrator is someone who knows everything that happens. He or she can tell the reader what each character thinks and feels. A limited third-person narrator is someone who can reveal the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

Other Literary Devices…Other Literary Devices…• Foreshadowing is the use

of clues to hint at events yet to come in a story.

• Flashback it the use of scenes that interrupt the time order of a story to reveal past events.

• Irony is the contrast between actual outcome and what a reader or a character expects to happen. Types of irony include situational, verbal, and dramatic.

• Dialect is the form of a language that people speak in a certain region or group.