Short Stories

Elements of a short story

1. Setting
2. Characterisation
3. Plot
4. Theme
5. Point of view

Short stories have between 500 and 17,000 words. The short story competition has a maximum of 2000 words.

Setting:

The setting of a story involves the Where and When the story takes place.

Characterisation:

This involves the characters of the story. Obviously there must be characters within the story, and they should ‘Show Don’t Tell.’ This is the first and last comment you will receive from a course tutor or literary agent. I will give a separate post on ‘show don’t tell’.

Plot:

This is a series of events or scenes surrounding, Exposition, Conflict, Climax, Resolution. For, in this case ‘The person in the hole.’

Theme:

It is good in a short story to impart a message. Show how difficulties can be approached and beaten. Humour is popular also.

Point of View:

As within a novel, the point of view is very important and must be one of 1st person (I, me) or 3rd person (He, She, They).