What Makes a Story?

Literary Elements

• Literary elements are the components of a literary work, including setting, plot, characters, and theme.
• Conflict is arguably the most important literary element, as it is the struggle between two forces that makes a story intriguing.

Types of Conflict

• External conflict occurs between two characters or between a character and a natural force.
• Internal conflict occurs within one character, such as a character's inner struggle or dilemma.

Characters

• Characters are people, animals, or figures featured in a story, and are essential for conflict to exist.
• Every story has a protagonist (good guy) and an antagonist (bad guy), with the main conflict being a struggle between these two characters.
• Examples of protagonists and antagonists include Harry Potter and Voldemort, and Katniss and President Snow.

Plot

• The plot is the series of events in a story, consisting of:
  • Exposition: introduces characters, setting, and conflict
  • Rising action: builds up suspense
  • Climax: turning point in the story
  • Falling action: suspense lessens and story approaches the end
  • Resolution: conflict is resolved and loose ends are tied
• Conflict plays a role in each part of the plot.

Setting

• Setting is the time, place, and social situation in which a story takes place.
• Time consists of when the story occurs, place is the location, and social situation is any important event in society during the story.
• Setting drastically affects the conflict, as different settings can change the entire plot and characters' experiences.

Theme

• Theme is the central message or lesson learned from a story, and can be multiple in a single story.
• Conflict is often used to emphasize themes, and authors create conflicts to put emphasis on these themes.
• Examples of themes include death, morality, and good vs. evil.