Epiphany Elements of a Short Story or Novel

short story

a brief, imaginative narrative containing few characters, a simple plot, conflict, and suspense which leads to a climax and swift conclusion

novel

a long work of fictitious prose that is book length, can have many characters, a comlex plot with multiple sub plots several conflicts

foreshadowing

a technique for hinting at events that may occur later in the plot

plot pyramid

contains the five main parts of the series of events as they unfold in a story or novel

exposition

introduces the reader to the setting and characters of a story: it comes before the action

conflict

it is what prevents the main character from getting what he or she wants; the battle faced between the character and himself, another character, society, some aspect of nature, technology, fate, etc.

characters

personalities who are involved in the plot of a story, usually people, creatures, or animals

character traits

physical and personality characteristics revealed through actions, thoughts, direct statements, etc made by the personalities in a story or novel

mood

the author's emotional attitude toward the subject matter of the story or novel

antagonist

the bad guy or villain in a story that creates the conflict for the main character

plot

the causal events or sequence of events in a story or novel; the action of a written work

theme

the central idea about life, or the message the author wants to convey to the reader about the subject matter in a story or novel

resolution

the conclusion of plot, and the tying together of all the loose threads

suspense

the feeling of excitement and tension in a story that keeps the reader curious as to what might happen next in the story

flashback

the insertion of an earlier event into the time order of a narrative

climax

the point of highest interest and the turning point in a story or novel

rising action

the series of events that include the conflicts, suspense, foreshadowing, symbols, etc. It is the longest part of plot.

setting

the time of day, a period in history, weather conditions, clothes, customs and dialect

falling action

this part comes after the climax, it is clarifies any questions the reader might have and the character completes the action of his/her decision

protagonist

usually the good guy or hero in a story or novel that strives to solve the conflict