1. Short Stories

2. Why Study Stories? Stories are elegant and effective means of communicating ideas. Those who can tell stories can communicate well with others—a vital skill for success in any profession or relationship. Stories help us understand ourselves, others, and the world in ways that just being told can’t. Stories require us to imagine and create and they can introduce us to new ideas and perspectives.

3. OK, but Why Read? Reading is active; watching TV is passive: Your brain has to create when you read, which means works hard. Like exercising the body, reading makes your mind stronger. It improves vocabulary It improves memory It improves sequencing, inference, analytical thought It improves empathy and broadens your emotional intelligence while also enhancing your cultural knowledge Plus, it reduces your risk for Alzheimer's and other degenerative brain diseases—so you’ll stay smarter when you’re old. When you watch TV, everything is already made, so you don’t have to create anything.

4. Parts of the Story Almost all stories follow the same basic pattern.

5. Plot The plot is the events of the story. Everything that happens is part of the plot.

6. Exposition The exposition is usually near the beginning of a story, and it gives us basic information about: The setting (the time and place) The characters “Once upon a time, in a far away land, there was a princess…”

7. Rising Action The rising action is all of the things that increase suspense in the story. Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty that comes from tense situations or from not knowing what is going to happen next. If the story isn’t suspenseful, exactly, then the rising action is everything that makes the story more complex. “The princess was kidnapped by a dragon…”

8. Climax The climax is the MOST suspenseful part of the story. When the reader is the most uncertain about what is going to happen, like whether a character will live or die, for example. In a short story, it usually happens near the end. (In a longer story, it’s usually about 2/3 of the way through, and there may be more than one situation that qualifies as a climax.) “The brave knight killed the dragon…”

9. Falling Action The falling action happens after the climax and helps tie up the loose ends of the story. Basically, it’s what happened after the climax. “The prince returned the princess to her kingdom…”

10. Resolution Happens at the end of a story The part where a character realizes something or changes “And they all lived happily ever after.” There isn’t always a clear distinction between the falling action and the resolution—sometimes they are kind of the same thing.

11. Motivation This is why a character does something. Ex: A character might do something out of fear, guilt, love, anger, etc. Just as in life, in order to really understand things, you need to understand why they happen.

12. Protagonist and Antagonist The protagonist is the main character of the story. This is not always a “good” guy. The antagonist is whoever opposes (goes against) the main character. Not always a “bad” guy. For example, in The Dark Knight, Batman is the protagonist and Bane is the antagonist. But, if they made a movie about Bane, he would be the protagonist even though he’s kind of a “bad” guy.

13. Conflict A conflict is a struggle between two or more things. Internal Conflict takes place inside a character’s head. Like they are struggling with a difficult decision or feeling. External Conflict takes place outside of a character’s head and involves an opponent. An opponent can be another character Or it can be something like nature (surviving a violent storm, etc.).

14. Characterization Direct Characterization is what the author tells you about a character. (You don’t have to figure anything out.) Ex: O’Neal is tall, handsome, and brilliant. See, the author just told you several (true, by the way) things about me; you didn’t have to figure anything out.

15. Characterization Indirect Characterization is when you figure out what kind of person a character is based on what they say, what they do, how they look, or how others react to them. Ex: O’Neal is feared by men and adored by women. Even though the author didn’t tell you directly, you can figure out that I am handsome and physically intimidating (which, of course, I am).

16. Foreshadowing This is when an author gives the reader clues about things that will happen in the future. Like in the Final Destination movies. Whenever a character is going to die, the camera focuses on things that can kill them.

17. Flashback When an author goes back in time to help explain more about a character, conflict, or situation. Forrest Gump is almost all flashbacks.

18. Allusion When an author makes a reference to a well-known person or work of art but doesn’t need to explain it that much. “He jumped like Jordan and cleared the wall.” We all know who Michael Jordan is, so that doesn’t really need to be explained.

19. Symbol A symbol is something concrete that represents something abstract. Concrete: Something you could see, feel, or hold A wedding ring, for example. Abstract: Something you can’t see, feel, or hold A wedding ring represents love, loyalty, etc.

20. (Universal) Theme The main lesson of the story True for everyone at any time Expressed as a sentence “Be careful what you wish for because you might get it.” (Monkey’s Paw) “Know your place and respect it.” (Icarus) “True beauty is on the inside” (Shrek) Themes are different than topics. Topics are one word: Love, loyalty, fate, etc. Themes say something specific about a topic.

21. Connotation and Denotation All words have a literal meaning. This is their denotation. It is neither positive nor negative. A connotation is the positive or negative suggestion behind the word. For example, there are a lot of ways to suggest that someone is smart.

22. Connotation and Denotation You could call them intelligent, or you could call them brilliant. They both have the same denotation, but one is even more positive than the other. You could also call them nerdy. Still means smart, but the connotation is more negative than the other options.

23. Connotation and Denotation Suppose you wanted to say that someone was thin. You could say slim, trim, or fit. The connotations of these are not negative. In fact, “fit” and “trim” would generally be considered positive. But, if you said scrawny, bony, or skinny… Those words have a negative connotation.