Elements of a Short Story
PLOT
The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea; It is the sequence of events
in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and
end. The short story usually has one plot so it can be read in one sitting. There are five essential
parts of plot:
1. Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is
revealed.
2. Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the
conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax).
3. Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The
reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
4. Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader
knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between
climax and denouement).
5. Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.
It is helpful to consider climax as a three-fold phenomenon: 1) the main character
receives new information 2) accepts this information (realizes it but does not necessarily
agree with it) 3) acts on this information (makes a choice that will determine whether or
not he/she gains his objective).
POINT OF VIEW
Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.
1. Innocent Eye - The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being
different from that of an adult).
2. Stream of Consciousness - The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside
the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
3. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts
closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The
reader sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows
what he/she knows or feels.
4. Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He
can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and
when he chooses. There are two main types of omniscient point of view:
5. Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they,
she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows
him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author
chooses to reveal them to us.
6. Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as
though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is
seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No
interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the
author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.
CHARACTER
There are two meanings for the word character:
