STORY ELEMENTS Compiled by Mrs. D. Wittmann
FICTION Six-word Story Twitter Story: 140 characters or less Hint Fiction: 25 words Dribble: 50 words Drabble: 100 words Micro Fiction: 300 words Flash Fiction: 100 –1,000 words (encompasses the above) Short Story: 1,000 –7,500 words Novelette: 7,500 –20,000 words Novella: 20,000 –50,000 words Novel: 50,000 –110,000 words Epic or Super Novel: Over 110,000 words
TED TALK What happens when a dream you've held since childhood … doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.
The SIX Story Elements Point of View Plot Characterization Conflict Setting Theme
NARRATION AND POINT OF VIEW Point of view refers to the narration of a story. Literature must be narrated by someone, and a writer must decide who that someone will be. The selection of narrator determines the point of view from which the story will be told, as well as the amount and kind of information a reader will be given.
How is the story being told? Always ask yourself Is the narrator reliable? How much does the narrator really know? What prejudices or personal needs may affect the information we are given? From where is the story told? (internal or external) How many narrators are there? Who is the protagonist? Whose story is it? https://www.flocabulary.com/unit/point-of-view/
First-Person Narration First-person narration is easy to identify because the narrator will be telling the story from the “I” perspective. In this mode, the narrator is usually the protagonist or central character in the story. But even if this character is not the protagonist, he or she is directly involved in the events of the story and is telling the tale “first hand.” Readers should watch for the narrator’s use of first-person pronouns- “I, me, my, our, us, we, myself, and ourselves,” as these will usually indicate that the passage is narrated from first-person perspective. Remember, with this skill readers are trying to identify the perspective of the narrator; therefore, one must ignore the dialogue of characters (indicated by “quotation marks”) and solely focus on narration, otherwise one is not analyzing the narrator’s point of view. 1. First-person participant (the protagonist) 2. First-person observer
Second-Person Narration Second person narration turns the reader into a character as the reader is addressed as "You" In this mode of narration “you” are the agent, such as in this example: you walked down the stairs. As it is generally awkward for a story to be narrated from “your” perspective, this mode of narration is not used very often in narratives and stories. There are some exceptions, however, and second-person perspective is the primary mode of narration for choose your own adventure books and similarly styled writings. More frequently, directions and instructions and usually narrated from second-person perspective. In most cases, directions will be written in short imperative sentences, where the implied subject is “you.” Even when “you” is not explicitly stated, it is understood that “you” are the subject of directions and instructions. Example: “You open your eyes and the sun is already high in the sky. You’ve slept away the whole morning. You roll over on the hot sand, scrambling to your knees. The events of last night come rushing back to you…”
Third-Person Narration Frequent use of “he, she, them, they, him, her, his, her, and their” by the narrator indicates that a passage is narrated from third-person perspective. With this mode of narration, the narrator tells the story of another person or group of people. The narrator may be far removed from or not involved in the story, or he or she may be a supporting character supplying narration for a hero. There are three distinct modes of third-person narration: objective, limited, and omniscient Which mode the narrator is using is determined by a single variable- how much the narrator accesses the thoughts, feelings, and internal workings of the characters and shares them with the reader through narration. Characters’ feelings and motivations can be inferred and understood through their behavior and dialogue in each of the three modes of third-person narration; however, in determining which mode the narrator is operating, readers should be concerned with finding instances where the narrator explicitly reveals a character’s thoughts or feelings.
Third-Person Objective: In this mode of narration, the narrator tells a third-person’s story (he, she, him, her), but the narrator only describes characters’ behavior and dialogue. The narrator does not reveal any character’s thoughts or feelings. Again, readers will be able to understand characters’ thoughts and motivations based on characters’ actions and dialogue, which are narrated; however, the narrator will not explicitly reveal character’s thoughts and/or motivations in narration. Third-Person Limited: When a narrator uses third-person limited perspective, the narrator’s perspective is limited to the internal workings of one character. In other words, the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of one character through explicit narration. As with objective narration, readers may be able to infer characters’ thoughts and feelings based on the behaviors and dialogue of those characters, which are narrated, but the narrator also directly reveals the central character’s internal perspective. Third-Person Omniscient: In this mode of narration, the narrator grants readers the most access to characters’ thoughts and feelings. With third-person omniscient narration, the narration will reveal more than one characters’ internal workings. The base word omni means “all,” and scient means “knowing,” so omniscient roughly translates to “all knowing.” In this case the etymology is accurate, because in omniscient narration, the narrator is all knowing.
Narrative Pace Narrators, and the authors behind them, also make choices about the pace at which they tell a story, speeding up or slowing down some parts, and omitting others all together. Narrative has a versatility to manipulate pace depending on how much ground the passage is covering in regard to the novel’s time line. Narrative can slow the pace to describe every breath a character takes or speed up to cover a month of events in one simple summary.
Increasing the pace: Shorter paragraphs, shorter sentences, and occasional sentence fragments Less description, more dialogue Active verbs and fewer modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) Events that move the action forward rather than switching to subplots Something important happens in each chapter, and the chapters are kept short Covers periods of inaction with a transitional sentence rather than going into details about what happened Decreasing the pace: Longer sentences, longer paragraphs More narrative and less dialogue More modifiers, less active verbs, and passive sentence structure Switches to subplots between chapters high in tension Layers in significant details to emphasize their importance (foreshadowing) Uses flashbacks
Narration Versus Dialogue Defining Dialogue According to William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman’s “A Handbook to Literature,” dialogue is most easily defined as a “conversation of two or more people.” However, dialogue can also exist in scenes when a character is alone and talking to himself, or if only one of the characters present is speaking. Dialogue may be more precisely defined as words spoken aloud by a character in a scene as indicated by quotation marks. In a novel, dialogue serves to bring a sense of realness and immediacy to scenes by letting readers “eavesdrop” on characters. It advances the story, develops the characters, provides realism and information, and defines characters.
Ping-Pong Dialogue If any dialogue is said to speed up the plot, then “ping-pong” dialogue is a race-car down the page, or a sledge, or a shoot, or a slippery-slope—wheeeeee!—that sends the reader whizzing along. The absence of dialogue tags (he said, she said) and the absence of descriptive dialogue (He stood up. She pointed a finger at him.) is pleasant. It’s a light touch.
PLOT
PLOT The series of related events in the short story forms the plot structure. To piece together the plot, ask yourself how the story begins, what conflicts are established to build suspense, how the story comes to a turning point or climax and, in the end, how the conflicts are resolved. Exposition: provides information regarding setting and characters, and hints at the conflict/s to come Rising Action + Inciting Incident: sets the plot in motion by changing the initial situation, the trigger (catalyst) Climax: the defining moment or turning point in the story (moment of decision or action taken by the protagonist) Falling Action: the consequences Resolution: the "conclusion" of the story
PLOT Plot is the sequence of events and ideas that occur in the story and how the ways those events relate to one another. These events are presented to the reader to show relationships and meanings. The author crafts a plot structure to create expectations, increase suspense, and develop characters. The pacing of events can make a novel either predictable or riveting. Foreshadowing and flashbacks allow the author to defy the constraints of time. Sometimes an author can confound a simple plot by telling stories within stories. In a conventional work of fiction, the peak of the story’s conflict—the climax—is followed by the resolution, and denouement, in which the effects of that climactic action are presented.
Stories often follow a pattern 1. An opening introduces the situation – the exposition. 2. Complications occur usually based on some kind of conflict – a struggle between two or more characters, ideas or forces. The development of these complications is often called rising action. 3. The conflict or conflicts reach a height of tension called the climax. 4. Things then settle down to a stable situation. This stage is divided into the falling action, resolution, and denouement. A typical plot follows time order; however, many plots have less predictable structure. For example, some plots start with falling action and then jump to the introduction;others jump around in time. The author’s choice of structure can affect the meaning of the story and the impact it has on the reader.
Questions to consider: Can you divide the story into an opening, complications, climax and denouement? What is the series of events in the plot? Why do you think the author chose these events? Is the plot told in time order or does it follow a less predictable order? How does the choice of order affect the impact and meaning of the story? How would the impact of the story change if you changed the order of events? How would the impact of the story change if an event was left out or changed?
CHARACTERIZATION One of the most important elements in literature is characterization - the way that characters are described and observed, the way they interact with each other, the way they pursue goals, and react to conflicts. Authors use both direct and indirect characterization to describe characters. Direct Characterization Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is. It is direct or EXPLICIT. Direct characterization establishes a baseline. Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well-mannered and did not disobey their mother.” Explanation: The author is explicitly telling the audience the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.” However, simply reading straight forward descriptions can get boring, and thus the authors also rely on indirect characterization. Much of the heavy lifting of characterization is done indirectly.
Character Types Protagonist (literally "the first speaker"): The leading character in a play, movie, or story. The protagonist is not always the hero, rather an anti-hero, but is always the central character about whom the story revolves. Antagonist (speaks against him): The rival or opponent of the protagonist. The antagonist may be society, nature, another person, or an aspect of the protagonist himself or herself, such as his or her conscience. Foil: A secondary character who provides a contrast to the main character. The contrast helps to emphasize the main character's qualities. Symbolic: A character who represents an abstract idea which is related to the themes of the novel or play. Confidant: The character who the main character confides in and trusts.
Development Given the Character Dynamic: A character who undergoes an important internal change during the course of the action. Changes could include ones of insight, understanding, commitment, or values. The protagonist is usually a dynamic character. Static: A character who does not change. The static character is of the same nature at the end of the narrative as at the beginning. Round: A major character in a work of fiction, usually the protagonist. A round character's personality is thoroughly developed mentally and emotionally. He or she is presented in enough detail to be realistic. When we think of characters we most admire in fiction, they will likely be round, multi-dimensional, interesting characters. Flat (or stock): A one-sided character who is not the focus and is not developed in the story. A one-sided character's stereotypical nature makes him or her instantly recognizable to most readers (e.g. the kindly grey-haired grandmother, the tough goon, the spoiled heiress)
CONFLICT Conflict is defined as the struggle between opposing forces. One of the forces is usually the main character (protagonist). The opposition may arise between forces internal or external to the central character.
Internal Force: Character versus himself (example: making an important decision) External Force: Character versus character (example: fist fight) Character versus society (example: prejudice) Character versus nature (example: flood) Character versus beast/animal (example: shark attack) Character versus supernatural (example: ghosts) Simply put, the conflict is the WHY of a story.
When a character is in conflict, there are THREE possible solutions: Defeat Success A lack of resolution When analyzing conflict, ask the following FOUR questions: Who or what is in conflict? What has caused the conflict (what are the obstacles or problems)? What is revealed about the characters as they respond to the conflict? What is the outcome of the conflict – it is resolved? Why or why not?
SETTING Location, location, location. It is Rule #1 of real estate, and it is important to literature too - the setting of a story will influence the story itself, as well as the characters. The setting itself can take on the role of a character. Setting indicates the time and place, the when and where, of a literary text. Author Eudora Welty describes it as "the named, identified, concrete, exact and exacting, and therefore credible, gathering spot of all that has been felt, is about to be experienced." The most important thing is that you pay attention to the details - the sights and sounds, textures and tones, colours and shapes.
Setting, Character, and Interaction How do the characters and the setting interact? What do we learn about the character through his interaction with the setting? What kind of mood and atmosphere is created through the setting? How does the author achieve this? A writer MUST convince the reader of why that human interacts with the setting in that particular way. Setting as Camera Careful control of setting can be somewhat equivalent to directing a film camera. Many films begin with a long shot, then a middle shot, then a close up. Identify the "types of shots" in your text.
Setting as Mood, Symbol, and Theme Setting can be used symbolically. It can stand for mood, a state of mind, an emotion. Setting can be used thematically. Setting as Action Characters , and their motivations, desires, hopes, may be juxtaposed against the settings in which they appear. They may occupy the setting comfortably, or be uncomfortable in the setting in which they are placed.
ATMOSPHERE VERSUS MOOD It’s easier to remember this distinction when you consider that ‘atmosphere’ is also the term used to describe the “gaseous envelope which surrounds the earth” – in other words, atmosphere is IN THE AIR whereas your mood is IN YOUR BEING (emotional state). In the real world when mood meets atmosphere and they clash (good mood, bad atmosphere or vice-versa) it’s difficult for the two to co-exist independently of each other. It’s much more likely that they will influence each other – that your bad mood will be lightened and may even disappear if you enter a place with a jovial lighthearted atmosphere. By contrast a good mood can be destroyed by a really negative atmosphere in a room. Look at the image. Describe the atmosphere, then describe the mood.
Think of examples of literature you have read where setting is both convincing and important. Be prepared to say something about how and why it is important.
In five sentences, describe a place that was important to you during your childhood. Think about the details that made the place special. Try to be as specific in your description as possible - do not name the place - attempt to describe it so well and detailed that the reader can guess where or what the place is, without being explicitly told.
THEME Theme is the central message of a literary work. It is not the same as a subject, which can be expressed in a word or two: courage, survival, war, pride, etc. The theme is the idea the author wishes to convey about that subject. It is expressed as a sentence or general statement about life or human nature. A literary work can have more than one theme, and most themes are not directly stated but are implied. The reader must think about all the elements of the work and use them to make inferences, or reasonable guesses, as to which themes seem to be implied.” Consider this: A theme is a meaning of a work. (Yes, there can be more than one “meaning.”) Can the meaning of a work be love? hate? greed? No—that makes no sense! Those are just topics, not themes. The theme is the statement an author is making about a topic. Stating the theme of a work of literature: Begin by using several abstract words to state the principal ideas of the work (topics that the piece is really about).Abstract words describe concepts or ideas that exist only in our minds like alienation,prejudice, ambition, freedom, love, loyalty, passion etc.
Revealing Theme Theme is an idea revealed by the events of the story; whereas, plot is simply what happens in the story. As a unifying generalization about life or people, theme may be stated directly by the author. Most often, however the writer may simply tell the story and let the reader discover the theme. The moral of a story and its theme may be connected. They, however, are not the same. To discover the theme of a story, the reader must try to discover the author’s central purpose. The central purpose is why the author wrote the story. The theme of a fable is its moral. The theme of a parable is its teaching. The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave.
THEMATIC Alienation Ambition Appearance vs. reality Custom / tradition Betrayal Bureaucracy Children Courage / cowardice Women / feminism Cruelty / violence Defeat / failure Despair/discontent Chance / fate / luck Domination / suppression Dreams / fantasies CONCEPTS Duty Education / school Escape Exile Faith / loss of faith Falsity / pretense Family / parenthood Free will / will power Games/contests Greed Guilt Heaven / paradise / utopia Home Heart vs. reason Initiation Illusion / innocence Instinct Journey/psychological journey Law / justice Loneliness Loyalty Materialism Memory / the past Mob psychology Music / dance Mysterious stranger Persistence / perseverance Patriotism Poverty Prejudice Prophecy Repentance Resistance / rebellion Revenge / retribution Ritual / ceremony Scapegoat / victim Search for identity Social status Supernatural Time/ eternity War
THEMATIC STATEMENTS Men, when they are courageous and lucky, even in a hostile environment, can overcome the odds against their survival. Our reason, courage, and strength can reach their full potential when challenged by a hostile environment. Long held beliefs and values rarely change unless stimulated by a dramatic event. When torn between two separate worlds, each with its own set of values, individuals must work to find their own true beliefs. A child’s sense of identity comes from interacting with others. If no positive role model is available, a child may never reach his/her true potential.
Other Terms to Know Allusion A significant reference, direct or indirect, to a work of literature, music, or art, as well as a historical event, person, or place. Irony 1. Verbal irony: saying the opposite of what one means 2. Dramatic irony: possession by the audience of knowledge which the character does not have 3. Irony of situation: discrepancy between what one anticipates and what actually comes to pass character or situation, or both.
Symbol A character, an action, a setting, or an object representing something else can be a symbol. Most often, the symbol in a story is an object that represents its owner’s character or situation, or both. Something that on the surface is its literal self but which also has another meaning or even several meanings. A symbol can be either conventional and universal or literary. Suspense Suspense is a feeling of anticipation,uncertainty, and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions.