| A | B |
|---|
| Short Story | a narrative prose story presenting a central theme, impression and/or characterization, usually under 10,000 words |
| Theme | the main idea, the main point the author wishes to convey through the literary work; the message |
| Characterization | the way the author develops a character within the story |
| Setting | the time and place of the story |
| Plot | the pattern of events, incidents or situations of a story |
| Conflict | a struggle between two opposing forces |
| Mood | the emotional atmosphere created in a story |
| Tone | another word for mood but really the feeling of the piece of literature |
| Action | series of connected events that form the plot that rises for excitement |
| Rising action | all the events in the plot which lead up to the climax |
| Climax | the high point of action - point where the conflict is resolved |
| Denouement | falling action - the final unraveling - the solution of the plot |
| Fiction | an imaginary creation of an author's mind - make believe |
| Pseudonym | a fictitious name - a pen name |
| Irony | when the opposite of the expected happens to twist the plot of a story |
| Narrator | the person telling the story |
| Realism | a detailed presentation of everyday experience or subjects as if they had been caught by a camera to make them real |
| Local Color | the characteristic appearance, mannerisms, speech, dress, of a place, or period |
| Protagonist | the main character in a story |
| Antagonist | the character opposing the protagonist |
| Flashback | going from the present time and events in a story to a time and events in the past and treating this past as if it were the present |
| Foreshadowing | a hint or clue of what may happen later in the story |
