A short story, although shorter than a novel, contains all of the same features as its larger cousin (the big bad novel). It is a written story with a definite ending that shows characters in a struggle or conflict. An important characteristic of the short story is compression: which means that, unlike its larger and more famous cousin, unnecessary details and information are left out A novelist has all of the time in the world to develop plot, setting and character (or as much time as his/her publicist will allow) but a short story author must get down to business as his/her story must stay true to the genre – short. It is in this point that the beauty of the short story lies – as a genre, its power comes from the fact that some of the greatest stories ever written were under fifty pages! The fact that an author can create and elicit emotion from a reader in a few pages is a testament to the ability of these talented writers.

Short stories are often built around a theme: the central abstract idea of a literary work or film. It is expressed not simply as a few words or phrases, but as a complete thought. It embodies the essence of plot, character and conflict. It is the writer’s statement about life or an aspect of human nature or behaviour.

Develop: –Setting –Characters –Plot –Point of view –Style –Tone/mood atmosphere

Setting is an extremely powerful tool in story telling as it can be used to dictate the emotions of characters and hopefully elicit emotions in the reader as well. Setting is the when, where and atmosphere (mood) of the story T- time A- atmosphere P- place

We discover what a character is like by: –What he/she says –What she/he does –What others say about them –What he/she looks like –How she/he interacts with others

Plot is literally what happens in the story; in order to have plot there must be: Introduction/Exposition: the beginning of the story where characters are introduced, setting is established and necessary background information is given Initial Situation:the situation that the protagonist finds himself/herself in at the beginning of the story; begins the rising action Incidents:the actions, events or thoughts which take place throughout the story. These incidents or conflicts build up with increasing tension to the climax Climax:The point in the story where the protagonist (usually) has to make a decision or take action that will solve the conflict (for better or worse). After the climax there are no more conflicts. Conflict:All short stories present characters in a struggle or conflict; the conflict is what keeps us interested in the story. Denouement/Resolution: After the climax is the falling action, made up of the final incidents of the story; it may say more about the climax. The denouement wraps up and ends the story and finishes with the resolution. The resolution is not always explicitly stated but it should be implied so that the reader can move on.

Narration refers to the narrative technique. In other words, who is telling the story? First person: uses the subjective “I”. The narrator is a character in the story Third person: uses the objective “he, she, they”. The narrator is almost floating above the story as a spectral observer. Within third person there are two different forms: –Omniscient narrator: this narrator is all seeing meaning that the narrator can see the thoughts of all of the characters in the story. –Limited omniscient: in this form of narration, the narrator can only see the thoughts of one character (the protagonist). Point of View: This is from whose perspective that the story is being told. Whether first or third, stories are usually told from one or two characters’ points of view.

A very long presentation on a very short topic.