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Jan 18, 2022 · “I don’t know what I’m doing,” Felicity tearfully tells her counselor in Season 2, ingeniously played by Amy Aquino. “I’ve been in relationships that I don’t really understand, I hate my haircut,...
- Jeffrey Davies
What makes a story “good”? Why do some stories stay with us long after the book is closed, while others leave us feeling unsatisfied? We’ll guide you through everything you need to know about getting the most out of your own story, as well as some pitfalls to avoid.
- Premise: A premise sets up the location, characters, and circumstances your readers need to understand before you launch into the story’s plot. A premise includes physical location, like an elementary school or hospital, as well as the basic expository information that readers need to understand at the beginning of your story.
- Plot: The plot is the sequence of events that make up the action of your story. Understanding the elements of plot is vital for any writer. A plot progresses chronologically from an inciting incident and rising action to a climax that spills over into falling action followed by resolution.
- Character: Plot cannot exist in a vacuum; it requires different characters who participate in and advance the story. Character development is one of the most important literary elements.
- Prose: The sentence structure and word choices you implement in your writing are also key elements of your story. Deciding whether to write in the vernacular of a first-person narrator or in the more neutral voice of a third-person omniscient narrator is an important decision that will affect your prose.
- CREATE A COMPLEX MAIN CHARACTER. What if everybody were as shallow as their Instagram feeds? You asked them a question, and they responded with a short, inspiring quote and then radio silence for a day.
- INCLUDE A TRANSFORMATION. Cards on the table: this is my favourite element. It’s the reason I love storytelling. Frankly, it’s the reason I love being alive.
- GIVE YOUR MAIN CHARACTER A DEEP DESIRE. I want you. I love you. I must have you. That’s the level of desire your character must have. You can have desire without writing a romance plot.
- ADD OBSTACLES TO YOUR STORY. I wanted an ice cream. I had some money. So I bought it. And dammit, it was delicious ice cream! Worst. Story. Ever. Why is that anecdote (it’s not a story!)
- 9 Key Elements of A Short Story
- Character
- Want/Goal
- Conflict
- Decisions
- Climax
- Ending
- Change
- Point of View
- Setting
When it comes down to the elements of a short story, focus on nine key elements that determine if the short story is a complete story or a half-baked one.
Charactersin books are well-drawn. There's a lot of time spent on character development and backstory. That's not needed for short stories. Short stories need one central character and one or two other major characters. That’s about it. There isn't enough room to have a ton of characters and a story will veer away from the central plotline if a lar...
The central character needs to want something—even if it’s a glass of water, as Kurt Vonnegut famously said. (They can also not want something. But they have to have an opinion either way.) The story is their quest to get said something. Obviously, in real life people want multiple things, often at once and often in contrast to each other. But in a...
Obstacles and complications need to make the protagonist's journey hard, and these types of conflictshould raise the stakes as the protagonist tries to achieve their want/goal. In books, multiple things need to get in the way of the character completing the goal, but in short stories, there can be as little as one central conflict. Conflict stems f...
If characters sit around watching the world go by, there's no story plot. A character needs to make decisionsat every turn to drive the story forward. Your want/goal is the reason behind these decisions, but the conflict is what's driving the need to even make them. Let's go back to Vonnegut's idea of a character wanting a glass of water (goal). Sa...
This is the element of most stories that’s missing when someone tells a boring story at a party. This is the exciting part, the punchline, the ultimate point of the entire story. This is where the character goes up against the baddie in afinal showdownand either wins or loses. This is the ultimate answer to the What If Question we talked about befo...
The ending is short, often only a couple of sentences in a short story. This is where everything is wrapped up. It follows the climactic fight and winds down the remaining character and plot points, letting readers breathe and showing them what comes next for the character. (This is not the time to dun, dun, DUUN!) This is often missing in short st...
When you encounter conflict in real life, you make decisions, which lead to change. It’s the same for the characters. They changethroughout this little adventure they’re on, and so do their circumstances. If they’re in the same place at the end of the story they were at the beginning, did anything even happen? The Lottery Tessie's change is pretty ...
Choose one point of viewand stick to it. This is essential in a short story. You do not have enough room to go head-hopping or switching points of view with each paragraph. You want your reader to be with your character the whole time, otherwise they will lose interest. If you need a point of view refresher, read this article. Here's the point of v...
Even short stories should have a decently drawn setting. This is tricky because, again, you don’t have room to be describing every little thing. You’ll need to weave in the settingas you tell the story and stick to the essentials. Notice the three example stories have something in common: a rather ambiguous setting. The Lottery We know Tessie lives...
Feb 23, 2024 · A good story is a tapestry woven with multiple threads — characters, plot, setting, and emotional resonance. When these elements come together in just the right way, they speak directly to your audience, so it’s important to get the balance right and tailor your writing to suit your readers.
People also ask
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Apr 10, 2022 · The 7 literary elements of a story are characters, setting, tone, theme, point of view, conflict, and plot. All of these story elements are crucial.
