5 Important Elements

of a Short Story

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Elements of a short story
The five key elements that make up a short story are
• Characters
• Setting
• Conflict
• Theme
• Plot

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 Character
■ A character is a person, or sometimes an animal, who
takes part in the action of a short story or other literary
work.
■ Characters and how we get to know them:
■ Through the author’s physical description of them
■ Through their actions
■ Through their words (dialogue)
■ Through their inner thoughts
■ Through what other characters say and think about them

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 Setting
■ Setting is the time and place
that a story occurs.
■ Authors often use
descriptions of landscape,
scenery, buildings, seasons
or weather to provide a
strong sense of setting.

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 Theme
■ Theme is the meaning behind events and
characters’ actions in a story.
■ The theme is the central idea, message, or
purpose in a short story.
■ A theme can be expressed as a general statement
about people or life.
■ It is NOT plot summary.
■ It can be either directly or indirectly stated by the
author. Most likely indirectly.

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 Conflict
■ Conflict is any of the problems that a character encounters in a
story.
■ The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short
story.
■ The main character is on one side of the main conflict.
■ Conflicts can be:
■ 1. External – conflict with others and with nature
■ 2. Internal – conflict within themselves
■ The main character may struggle:
■ against another important character
■ against the forces of nature
■ against society
■ against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).

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 Plot
■ Plot is a pattern of events that develop from the
interactions between characters.
■ A plot is a series of events and character actions that
relate to the central conflict.
■ There are 5 elements of plot:
■ Exposition
■ Rising Action
■ Climax
■ Falling Action
■ Conclusion

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 Plot Diagram
5 Elements of Plot

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Narrative arc/Plot diagram

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 Exposition
■ The start or introduction of the story.
■ The background information that the reader
must have in order to understand the story.
■ This is where characters and setting are
introduced.
■ Avoid beginning your story with “Once upon a
time”

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 Rising Action
■ All of the events that take place leading up to the
climax.
■ This is where the reader is introduced to the
conflict.

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 Climax
■ The most exciting part of the story.
■ The turning point in the story.
■ Here the story is turned in a different direction,
toward the conclusion.

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 Falling Action
■ The immediate reaction to the climax.
■ All the actions that occur after the climax and
before the conclusion of the story.

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 Resolution
■ The conclusion of the plot.
■ Loose ends are tied up.
■ There might not be a clear
resolution. This is called a
cliffhanger ending.

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell
Compare
■ Elroy drove the boat for fifteen minutes until he reached
Canadian waters. He cut the engine and began fishing. AND
■ For ten or fifteen minutes Elroy held a course upstream, the
river choppy and silver-gray, then he turned straight north
and put the engine on full throttle. I felt the bow lift beneath
me. I remember the wind in my ears, the sound of the old
outboard Evinrude. For a time I didn’t pay attention to
anything, just feeling the cold spray against my face, but then
it occurred to me that at some point we must’ve passed into
Canadian waters ... Elroy cut the engine, letting the boat
fishtail lightly about twenty yards off shore. The old man
didn’t look at me or speak. Bending down, he opened up his
tackle box and busied himself with a bobber and a piece of
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Show, don’t tell
Compare
■ Elroy drove the boat for fifteen minutes until he reached
Canadian waters. He cut the engine and began fishing. AND
■ For ten or fifteen minutes Elroy held a course upstream, the
river choppy and silver-gray, then he turned straight north
and put the engine on full throttle. I felt the bow lift beneath
me. I remember the wind howling in my ears. For a time I
didn’t pay attention to anything, just feeling the cold spray
against my face, but then it occurred to me that at some
point we must’ve passed into Canadian waters ... Elroy cut
the engine, letting the boat fishtail lightly about twenty yards
off shore. The old man didn’t look at me or speak.

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Show, don’t tell
■ Use strong, showing, SENSORY words instead of telling
words to paint a vivid and striking picture of a setting,
emotions, or characters’ states.
■ For instance, instead of “say,” which is neutral and bland,
use “whisper,” or “shriek,” “squeal” if your characters are
speaking in a specific way.
■ Use vivid descriptors to convey a memorable landscape,
setting, places or people’s appearance.
■ For instance: Ahmed was wearing a snow white thobe that
made me squint as the sunlight reflected from his elegant
garb pierced my irises.

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell

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Show, don’t tell

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