Short Story - Language Notes
A short story is a piece of narrative writing that exist for the purpose of entertainment. In order to achieve this primary goal, it must contain seven elements. These are:
GENRE
The very first thing that you should do, after reading the question or topic that is given, is to decide what genre you will be using. Genre is a term that describes any category that stories, music, art etc. are placed. Some examples of genre are:
SETTING
The second step in the story writing process is to establish the setting. Setting refers to the time, place and mood of your story. Therefore, if you choose to use horror, then you might think about allowing the story to occur in the middle of the night to early morning (time), in an old decrepit house (place), and the mood might be tense.
The setting is very important to the development of the story because it adds mood and atmosphere. Therefore, attention should not only be payed to things that the reader can see, but what he or she can hear and smell as well.
PLOT & PLOT STRUCTURE
Plot
The plot is the framework, or outline, of your story and it is next in line for consideration. It, like the setting, must align with the genre. Therefore,the details of your evolving horror short story must now possess characteristics of the genre, such as a haunting, the presence of ghost and the pervasive element of fear and anticipation.
Plot Structure
While the plot centers on the details, or the 'flesh' of your story, the plot structure speaks to the literal skeletal framework. It is important to think about the possible details (plot) in your story before you decide on the structure because it (the plot structure) acts as the enhancement factor. Therefore, it is only after you have worked through the possible details in your story that you then decide on a physical layout. Three types of plot structures are basic, flashback and cliff hangar.
Basic:
Flashback:
Cliff Hangar:
Point of View
This is the position, or view from which you will be writing. Think of the point of view as different pairs of sun glasses. One might be tinted pink, so the reader receives what you are saying, through your story, in shades of pink, while another sun glasses might be grey, so the reader sees shades of grey. The point of view, therefore, is the lens through which the reader receives your story. You control how the reader sees and perceives the events in your story based on the lens through which you choose to tell the story. Some examples of point of view, or lenses, are:
First person narrator:
Third person narrator:
Omniscient narrator:
CHARACTER
The characters are the individuals who populate your story. There are four types of characters, in terms of development, that can be found in stories. These are flat, round, stereotype and stock.
Flat Character
Round Character
Stereotype/ Stock Character
Literary Devices
TIPS:
Contributors: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Samouye Brown
Simmonds-McDonald, H., Williams, D. A World of Prose for CXC. Oxford: Heineman Education Publishers, 1994.
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- Genre
- Setting
- Plot
- Plot Structure
- Point of view
- Character
- Literary Devices
GENRE
The very first thing that you should do, after reading the question or topic that is given, is to decide what genre you will be using. Genre is a term that describes any category that stories, music, art etc. are placed. Some examples of genre are:
- Fiction
- Non-fiction
- Fairytale
- Horror
- Mystery etc.
SETTING
The second step in the story writing process is to establish the setting. Setting refers to the time, place and mood of your story. Therefore, if you choose to use horror, then you might think about allowing the story to occur in the middle of the night to early morning (time), in an old decrepit house (place), and the mood might be tense.
The setting is very important to the development of the story because it adds mood and atmosphere. Therefore, attention should not only be payed to things that the reader can see, but what he or she can hear and smell as well.
PLOT & PLOT STRUCTURE
Plot
The plot is the framework, or outline, of your story and it is next in line for consideration. It, like the setting, must align with the genre. Therefore,the details of your evolving horror short story must now possess characteristics of the genre, such as a haunting, the presence of ghost and the pervasive element of fear and anticipation.
Plot Structure
While the plot centers on the details, or the 'flesh' of your story, the plot structure speaks to the literal skeletal framework. It is important to think about the possible details (plot) in your story before you decide on the structure because it (the plot structure) acts as the enhancement factor. Therefore, it is only after you have worked through the possible details in your story that you then decide on a physical layout. Three types of plot structures are basic, flashback and cliff hangar.
Basic:
- Starts with an
interesting beginning
- Slowly
climbs
- Climax
occurs
- Slow
descent
- Then a resolution
Flashback:
- Starts at the climax
- A
slow descent occurs, where the author explains what has led up to the climax
- Resolution
of issues occurs at the end
Cliff Hangar:
- Starts with an
interesting beginning
- Slowly
climbs
- Climax
occurs
- Ends
with the reader literally hanging in suspense
Point of View
This is the position, or view from which you will be writing. Think of the point of view as different pairs of sun glasses. One might be tinted pink, so the reader receives what you are saying, through your story, in shades of pink, while another sun glasses might be grey, so the reader sees shades of grey. The point of view, therefore, is the lens through which the reader receives your story. You control how the reader sees and perceives the events in your story based on the lens through which you choose to tell the story. Some examples of point of view, or lenses, are:
- First person narrator
- Third person narrator
- Omniscient narrator
First person narrator:
- Can
only know and talk about the things that they have experienced in the story.
- He
or she can reflect on these things and make deductions from them.
- The
narrator cannot describe the thoughts of other characters.
- This narrator is characterized by the use of 'I'.
Third person narrator:
- The
narrator does not comment on characters
- Does not make judgments about the action of the story.
- He or she can be considered to be unintrusive.
- This is some-one outside the story that refers to the characters as 'they', 'him' or 'she'.
Omniscient narrator:
- The
narrative knows everything about the events and thoughts of every character in
the story.
CHARACTER
The characters are the individuals who populate your story. There are four types of characters, in terms of development, that can be found in stories. These are flat, round, stereotype and stock.
Flat Character
- A
simple, one dimensional character.
- Remains
unchanged throughout the course of the narration.
Round Character
- Complex
in mood and motivation.
- They
are fully described and change as a result of the situations and events that they encounter.
Stereotype/ Stock Character
- An over-simplified character who acts and thinks in a
predictable way.
Literary Devices
- A
literary technique that produces a particular effect.
- Examples
of literary devices are simile, metaphor, personification etc.
- The
use of these devices makes the story interesting.
- They
create visual pictures, in the readers’ mind, of the events in the story.
- See Literary Devices
TIPS:
- Cohesion
between the elements listed above is essential for a successful story.
- Literary
devices enhances the visual impact of the story, so USE THEM!
- Ensure
that your story relates to the question asked.
- If
you are given a line as a prompter, insert the line in your story.
- Ensure
that your story relates to the prompter in a very relevant way.
Contributors: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Samouye Brown
Simmonds-McDonald, H., Williams, D. A World of Prose for CXC. Oxford: Heineman Education Publishers, 1994.
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