Literary Elements & Story Outlines PDF

Elements of a Short Story  What is a Short Story? Short stories are narratives that mainly focus on a single event. The scope is often very limited – introducing only a handful of characters, a couple of locations, and a simplified plot. Unlike novels, short stories give read...

Elements of a Short Story  What is a Short Story? Short stories are narratives that mainly focus on a single event. The scope is often very limited – introducing only a handful of characters, a couple of locations, and a simplified plot. Unlike novels, short stories give readers a more concentrated & streamlined experience. 2  What are Literary Elements? For an audience, literary elements represent the building blocks of storytelling. For writers, they are tools for creating & enhancing stories. These elements include: Setting, Characterization, Plot, Theme, Conflict, and Symbolism. It is much easier to explore these elements in shorter fiction, which means that we’ll be exploring different kinds of narratives – from Short Stories to TV Show Episodes. 3  What is a Conflict? At the heart of every story is conflict; the tension that pushes characters to react and do things. Conflict can fall under one of two categories – Internal Conflicts [which happen within a characters mind] and External Conflicts [which happen outside their control]. In novels, this tension can evolve and change over many chapters. Short stories don’t have the luxury of time and usually focus on ONE main struggle. 4  What is Characterization? Characterization determines how a character is represented and described in a story. Authors use characterization to give us insight into personality, physical appearance, and even internal thoughts. Ultimately, a character is well-rounded and believable when they are consistent, life-like, and motivated. 5  What are Themes? Themes represent the main idea of a story and reveal the author’s underlying message. They can be as simple as an authors thoughts on a topic or as complicated as their views on human nature. Authors may use various tools to emphasize a theme – including symbols, allusions, metaphors, and/or irony. 6  The plot is how an author arranges the events of their story.  Plot Graphs help writers create that structure by playing with a specific timeline – the exposition, Inciting Incident & Rising Actions, the Climax, the Falling Actions, and the Resolution.  These components eventually become the beginning, middle, and end of a story.  The exposition is at the very beginning of a story – introducing readers to the world and its characters.  It will also make readers aware of important facts or background information.  It is also the best place for key characters – like protagonists and antagonists – to be introduced.  An event that creates most of the tension is the Inciting incident.  Rising Actions are the events that escalate the situation and make the story exciting.  In other words, the Inciting incident will establish the tension and the rising actions will explore that tension. The “high point” of a story where characters come face-to-face with the problem. It’s also where surprising twists and new details may emerge. The falling actions prepare readers for the conclusion – tying up loose ends and revealing connections that fill-in-the-blanks. The final component of a story – everything is resolved and a reasonable ending is reached.