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*Short Story Unit* *Story Elements*
*Story Element*	*Definition*	*Hint*
Setting	Time, place and duration	When, where and for how long did the story happen
Characters	They are the participants in the story; may be human, animal, or other.
Protagonist	The main character	A.K.A. the “good guy”
Antagonist	The opposing character	A.K.A. the “bad guy”
Static	A character who does not grow or learn from the events
Dynamic	A character who undergoes a change or growth and learns from the events
Conflict	The problem that the character(s) must confront. There are two types:
Internal	The character has a problem within; a difficult choice or decision that needs to be made.
External	The character has a problem with someone/something around him. There are five types of external conflict:
Individual vs. Individual	The main character, protagonist, has a conflict with another character, antagonist; bully or someone abusing their power.
Individual vs. Nature	The main character, protagonist, has a conflict that deals with nature; usually it’s about survival.
Individual vs. Society	The main character, protagonist, has a conflict that is against society or a portion of society; middle school “in-crowd”.
Individual vs. Supernatural	The main character, protagonist, has a conflict that deals with events that are extraordinary and not confined to scientific law; ghosts.
Individual vs. Technology	The main character, protagonist, has a conflict that deals with overcoming something technological; i.e. robots and spaceships.
Plot	The plot is the development of the main conflict. There are five parts:
Exposition (includes initiating event)	This is the beginning of the story; the introduction of characters and setting, and the basic situation of the story. The initiating (first) event is the first event that happens that begins the plot.
Rising Action	These are all the events that happen, one after the other, that develop the story and prepare us for the climax moment.
Climax	This is the event that we have been waiting to know the answer to, based on all the previous events; it’s the “does she live or die, or the will he or won’t he event. It has the greatest emotional connection.	The “highpoint” of the story.
Falling action	These are any and all events that happen after the climax. They begin to end the story by wrapping up any loose ends to the plot.
Resolution	This is the conclusion event of the story. It finalizes the story.
Theme	This is the overall message, or the point, of the story; it is the lesson learned or the moral.	It is NOT a summary of the plot!
Tone	The writer’s attitude toward the subject being written about.
Point of View	The way an author reveals the events in a story in one of the following ways:
First person	The narrator is inside the story telling about the events and participating as one of the characters in the story. Look for key words: we, our, us, and personal pronouns, such as I, me, my, and mine.
Third person Limited	The narrator is outside the story telling about the events. Limited: The narrator knows about only one characters thoughts, feelings, hopes, and desires.
Third person omniscient	The narrator is outside the story telling about the events. Omniscient: The narrator knows all the thoughts, feelings, hopes and desires about all the characters.
Figurative Language (literary devices)
Foreshadowing	Hints or clues that are said or given about what will happen; hints or clues about future events before they occur.
Symbolism	The use of an item to represent something else.
Flashback	Revealing events that happened in the past during a story: used to help fill in an understanding about why something is currently happening.