Elements of Short Stories

Setting
This includes the:
time (of day and year/season)
time period (early 1700’s)
place of a story (where in the world, country, village, home, room).
It helps establish the background, the plot, and can tell you a lot about the characters who inhabit it
Task: Read the story following and create a description for the setting.

Plot
• Plot refers to events of a story. Every story has to

have things “happen” in order for it to be effective. • Usually the plot introduces a conflict, has some events in the rising action which develop the conflict, and leads toward a climax or turning point, where the outcome is decided.

Inciting Incident
This is the point in the story where the

problem that needs to be resolved is
INTRODUCED
Describe the inciting incident in the following story. Conflict
Every story needs a conflict to make it

compelling. The main types of conflict are:
 Person vs. Person
 Person vs. Self
 Person vs. Society
 Person vs. Almighty
 Person vs Nature

Describe an example of each from the latest movie you watched.

Characters
An author usually tries to show what a

character is like through what he/she says, does or what others say about him/her.

Types of Characters
Major or central characters are vital to the

development and resolution of the conflict. In other words, the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these characters.
Minor characters serve to complement the major characters and help move the plot events forward.
Dynamic - A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis.
Most dynamic characters tend to be central rather than peripheral characters, because resolving the conflict is the major role of central characters.

Types of Characters
Static - A static character is someone who

does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or evolve.
Round - A rounded character is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person.
Flat - A flat character is the opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic.

Types of Characters
Stock - Stock characters are those types of

characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to readers or audience members (e.g. the femme fatale, the cynical but moral private eye, the mad scientist, the geeky boy with glasses, and the faithful sidekick). Stock characters are normally onedimensional flat characters, but sometimes stock personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded characters (e.g. the "Hamlet" type).

Types of Characters
Protagonist - The protagonist is the central person

in a story, and is often referred to as the story's main character. He or she (or they) is faced with a conflict that must be resolved. The protagonist may not always be admirable (e.g. an anti-hero); nevertheless s/he must command involvement on the part of the reader, or better yet, empathy.
Antagonist - The antagonist is the character(s) (or situation) that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend. In other words, the antagonist is an obstacle that the
protagonist