elements of a short story

• A novel is a story that has many characters and explores many incidents.
• A short story is a story with fewer characters and focuses on one main incident.
• how to examine the setting:

  place

  time

  weather conditions

  social conditions

  mood or atmosphere
• There are two meanings for "character": a person in a fictional story; or qualities of a person.
• round characters - Fully developed personalities that are affected by the story's events; they can learn, grow,or deteriorate by the end of the story.
• flat - one-dimensional character
• dynamic - a character who goes through change and "grows" during a story
• STATIC - character does not go through a change
• Stream of Consciousness - Story told so readers solely experience a character's thoughts and reactions.
• Character vs. Self - Struggles with own soul, physical limitations, choices, etc.
• EXTERNAL conflict:

  Character vs. Character

  Character vs. Nature

  Character vs. Society