You are on page 1of 11

WHAT IS A SHORT STORY?

haveentertain
have
narrative
plotsus,–
andthings
or
have
have
have
have
have have
conflict – own
acharacters
setting
atheir a– the
narrator –
tensions
happen
–who
Short
structure
sometimes
are
areshort
place(s)
and
diction
––organised
examples
somewhere
theme
someone
discord
make
you can
interact
and
where –or
make
style
who
ofusto
the
readby
someone,
them
prose
think
the in writer,
or
fiction
one
feel
with to
sitting
stories
ofmain
reflect
action
things
tells
achieve
the
something
on idea
writing
happens
happen
consequences
events
story
an effect
new
Short stories are short: “Economy of form”
• Short stories are like photographs, rather than movies: they
usually focus on a particular scene, character, event or
situation.

• With limited space, you need a clear focus, few characters,


narrators and settings, and one central event or conflict.

A short story is like “a little earthquake”: It


must introduce and resolve a single event
or point of conflict, in limited space.
~ Joseph O’Conner ~
Short stories contain plot
• A plot is a narrative that is carefully organised and
sequenced.

• Plots focus on why events happen and the connections


between them (causality).

• Plot events do not have to happen in chronological order:


they may move backwards and forwards in time.

• Some stories begin in media res – in the middle of the action.

• Some stories have a twist in the tail – an unexpected


or surprising ending.
Diagram of short story plot structure
Typically, a short story plot follows this pattern:
Climax: This is the moment of greatest
tension when the most important event
Rising action: Tension of the story occurs.
increases as the initial incident
or conflict gets worse.
Denouement (or
Complication: An initial
falling action):
incident or conflict is
The tension
introduced and we
decreases as
wonder what will happen
issues are
or how the situation will
resolved or
be resolved.
explained.

Exposition: The scene is


set and the characters are Resolution: The reader gains understanding of the
introduced. central conflict and its outcome. Often the character(s)
learns something new or finds new ways to carry on.
Short stories have a narrator and point of view
• Ask who is telling the story? This identifies the narrator or
narrative voice. (The narrator may be a character in the story
or someone outside the story whom we cannot identify or
name.)

• Ask what is the narrator’s attitude towards events and


characters? This is the point of view held by the narrator.
The narrator and his/her point of view shapes the reader’s
response.
• First-person narrator: uses “I”; is a character in the story,
usually directly involved in the action. This narrator’s point of
view about events or other characters would be subjective or
slanted.

• Third-person narrator: cannot be identified. Usually offers a


more objective point of view. May be omniscient, i.e. can see
into the hearts or minds of all characters, and knows
everything about all conflicts and events.
Short stories contain characters
• Characters are central – without characters there is usually
no story.

• Because of economy of form (brevity), there are usually few


characters – sometimes only one.

• Short story characters must leap off the page – there is no


time for gradual revelations.

• Main characters can be static (they don’t change) or


developing (they change as they come into conflict with
others or are caught up in events).
We get to know characters through:

• their interactions with one another and


their situations

• their responses to events

• dialogue, actions, or exploration of inner thoughts and


feelings.
Short stories use language and style
• Short stories may entertain, inform, shock, challenge, protest,
surprise, express the self …

• Short stories use different diction or language. They may:


̶ tell it like it is in simple or realistic language
̶ experiment with language in fanciful or fantastical ways
̶ use poetic language full of imagery and/or symbolism.

• The use of language and narrative point of view determine the


style of the short story, which should reinforce or suit the
content, i.e. the situations, settings and characters it contains.
Short stories are located in a setting
• Events unfold in a setting – in a particular space and time.

• Stories may be set anywhere – a real world that the reader


can recognise or an imaginary world, such as a planet in outer
space.

• Settings may include reference to a busy social environment –


that is, the social world, culture, and attitudes of a broader
community.

• Setting shapes events or the destinies of characters.

You might also like