1. Elements of a Story

2. Recipe For A Story There are 5 main ingredients in a Story:
Add 1 Lg. helping of the most important ingredient, CHARACTER
Now fold SETTING into the batter and stir
Add PLOT and mix well
Whip in POINT OF VIEW and
Finally stir in THEME

3. CHARACTER
The most important element of a short story is Character – the people the story is about
The main character of a story is called the Protagonist. S/he may be good or bad, or a combination of the two, but the action revolves around her/him. Sets the plot in motion.

4. CHARACTER
Remember the main character is the protagonist--the major person
An antagonist is any character, feeling, or situation which acts against the protagonist in any way

5. CHARACTER Most stories are often populated with more minor characters
One type of Minor character who is the opposite of another, usually more significant character is called the foil.
The opposite nature of a foil character emphasizes the more significant character.

6. Four ways to describe a character
Static character--A character who remains fundamentally the same.

7. Four ways to describe a character
Dynamic character--A character who changes in some important way. Protagonists are USUALLY dynamic.

8. Four ways to describe a character
Characters whose personalities are reliant upon stereotypes or who only show one personality feature are called flat characters.

9. Four ways to describe a character
Characters who are so thoroughly described (thoughts, feelings, etc.) they seem real are called round characters. Protagonists are usually round.

10. SETTING
The Setting is the time and location in which the story takes place. Setting helps you understand the characters.
Location, location, location!
Whether it’s a physical locale that is exotic, or a turbulent historical period, making unique and intriguing choices automatically transforms any story.

11. SETTING
“Every story would be another story, and unrecognizable if it took up its characters and plot and happened somewhere else…” Author Eudora Welty
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TITANTIC 2

12. PLOT
a series of related events that make up a story or drama

13. PLOT/CONFLICT PLOT: The “backbone” of the story
Exposition (introduction to situation) is part of the plot that gives info about characters and their problems.
Rising action is the building of the major conflict.
Climax is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication.
Falling action is where we find out how the climax of the action affects the characters
Resolution is the set of events that bring the story to a close. Some stories lack a complete resolution--- sometimes leading to a sequel.

14. Conflict
Conflict is the essence of fiction. It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of five kinds.

15. Conflict continued
Person vs. Person Conflict that pits one person against another.

16. Conflict Continued
Person versus Society The values and customs by which everyone else lives are being challenged. The character may come to an untimely end as a result of his or her own convictions. The character may, on the other hand, bring others around to a sympathetic point of view, or it may be decided that society was right after all.

17. Conflict Continued
Person versus Nature A run-in with the forces of nature. On the one hand, it expresses the insignificance of a single human life in the cosmic scheme of things. On the other hand, it tests the limits of a person’s strength and will to live.

18. Conflict Continued
Person versus Self Internal conflict. Not all conflict involves other people. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies. An internal (inside you) conflict is a good test of a character’s values. Does she give in to temptation or rise above it? Does he demand the most from himself or settle for something less? Does he even bother to struggle? The internal conflicts of a character and how they are resolved are good clues to the character’s inner strength.

19. Conflict Continued
Person vs. the supernatural: Sometimes, this is grouped in as person v person. However, not always. This is when our main character is battling a non-human force that is another character.

20. Conflict Continued
Often, more than one kind of conflict is taking place at the same time. In every case, however, the existence of conflict enhances the reader’s understanding of a character and creates the suspense and interest that make you want to continue reading.

21. POINT OF VIEW
Point of View - pertains to who tells the story and the relationship of the narrator to the characters in the story. There are several different ways for a story to be told.
SAY
WHAT?

22. POINT OF VIEW
First Person The narrator is a character in the story who can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. He can’t tell us thoughts of other characters.
Anne Frank

23. Point of View Continued
Third-Person Objective The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. This narrator can tell us what is happening, but he can’t tell us the thoughts of the characters.
This is like a reporter on the news telling the story.

24. Point of View Continued
Third-Person Limited- The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters… like Charlie in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

25. Point of View Continued
Omniscient  The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters—Godlike narrator.

26. Theme
The stated or implied main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. Theme differs from the subject of a literary work in that it involves a statement or opinion about the topic.
For example, the subject of a story might be war while the theme might be the idea that war is useless.

27. Theme continued
Themes may be major or minor. A major theme is an idea the author returns to time and again. It becomes one of the most important ideas in the story. Minor themes are ideas that may appear from time to time.

28. Four ways authors demonstrate theme
Themes are expressed and emphasized by the way the author makes us feel. By sharing feelings of the main character, you also share the ideas that go through his mind.

29. Four ways authors demonstrate theme
2. Themes are presented in thoughts and conversations. Authors put words in their character’s mouths only for good reasons. One of these is to develop a story’s themes. The things a person says are much on their mind. Look for thoughts that are repeated throughout the story

30. Four ways authors demonstrate theme
3. Themes are suggested through the characters. The main character usually illustrates the most important theme of the story. A good way to get at this theme is to ask yourself the question, what does the main character learn in the course of the story?

31. Four ways authors demonstrate theme
4. The actions or events in the story demonstrate theme. People naturally express ideas and feelings through their actions. One thing authors think about is, “what an action will ‘say?’" In other words, how will the action demonstrate theme?

32. PLOT DIAGRAM WITH ADDED ELEMENTS…..