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short story
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SHORT STORY: A short story is a piece of writing that has very specific components. These components are; plot, character, conflict, point of view, and setting. Every short story must have these elements. The basic organization of a story is as follows: an interesting beginning, outlining the setting and establishing the conflict (rising action), exploring the climax, which then leads to the explanation and tying up loose ends (falling action), and finally, the denouement (final solution and untangling of conflicts).
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PLOT
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The plot of a story is the framework, or outline, of your story. It is like the backbone of your story. If your plot is not structurally sound, meaning that it contains an interesting beginning, rising action (setting + conflict), climax, falling action, and resolution, then the story will literally flop. It will flop because it has a weak skeletal structure. How can you check if your story is structurally sound? If you can summarize the sequential events of your story, and identify the elements of the short story (plot, character, conflict, setting, and point of view) simultaneously, then you have a winning story.
You also want to consider how you want to organize this backbone. You could use a basic, flashback, or cliffhanger plot structure. (see slideshow at the bottom of the page) |
CHARACTER
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The characters are the individuals who populate your story. These 'individuals' can be people, animals, or objects. Your job, as the writer, is to bring these characters to life by ensuring that they are as relatable as possible to real-life people. Before you start your story it is recommended that you consider the traits that you want your characters to possess. Are they cunning and evil, or smart and good? Or a mixture of both? Who will be the protagonist (the leading 'good' character) and the antagonist (the leading 'bad' character)? Please note that there can be grey areas, the protagonist does not have to be 100% bad and the antagonist does not have to be 100% bad.
This is where you start considering the types of characters that you need. Will your character be flat, round, and stereotype/stock? A flat character is one-dimensional and does not change. So this character usually supports the protagonist or antagonist. |
The stock/ stereotype character is an extreme of the flat character, almost a caricature. This character is over-simplified and behaves in predictable ways, for example, the wicked Witch of the East. Conversely, the round character is complex in mood and motivation and often undergoes a change in the story.
CONFLICT
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Conflict is literally a disagreement. Every story needs a disagreement to be exciting and to add drama. This conflict can be man versus man. This is where two or more people have a verbal or physical disagreement. The second option is man versus himself. This is where the character is trying to make a decision, so he/ she is in disagreement with self, they have several options to consider that might be disadvantageous or advantageous to them, or it might be morally wrong. A third option is man versus nature. To execute this type of conflict, a natural disaster is required in your plot and your character(s) needs to be trying to survive it. Finally, there is man versus society, where the character is on the wrong side of the law or popular societal views (see slideshow).
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POINT OF VIEW
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The point of view (POV) is the perspective from which your story is told. There are three possible perspectives that you can choose from: first person, third person, or the omniscient narrator. The first-person narrator can only reflect on what they see and experience and is characterized by the use of the "I". The third-person narrator, on the other hand, is an unintrusive narrator who comments on the events of the story from outside of the story. This narrator is usually focused on the major characters, like the protagonist and antagonist, but they do, at times comment on minor characters. This narrator's voice is characterized by the use of the terms "they", "them", 'him" or "she". The omniscient narrator, in contrast, is the one who sees all and comments on everything. This narrator knows everything about the events and thoughts of every character in the story.
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SETTING
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The setting is the time, place, and atmosphere of your story. This is a crucial aspect of any story because it allows your story to be categorized into genres (science fiction, romance, horror, etc.), which ensures that your story can be understood and appreciated. The crucial nature of time can be seen in the fact that if your story occurs in 2093, the reader is cued into the fact that they are reading science fiction. If your story is set in 1793, we know that this is a historical novel set in the past. If it occurs in 2023, we know that it is somewhere in the present. Place is also important. If your story takes place in a haunted mansion, then the reader is alerted to the fact that they might be dealing with a horror story. Atmosphere refers to the mood of your story, which is directly linked to time and place. For example, the mood of a story can be scary. This scariness could then be attributed to the fact that your story is set in a haunted British mansion in 1803. This then translates to an ominous atmosphere.
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LITERARY DEVICES
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PLOT STRUCTURE
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Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
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