Elements, characteristics and structure of a short story

First Person

"I" and "Me" standpoint. Personal perspective (I, me, my, we, our).

Style

A basic and distinctive mode of expression.

Characters

A person in a story

Complication

A series of difficulties forming the central action in a narrative.

Plot

A series of related events in a story, each connected to the next.

Small number of Characters

A short story needs a limited number of characters because there is not enough time to deal with too many.

Orientation

An introduction to the time and place of the setting, the main characters, and the main idea of the story.

Theme

Central idea of a work of literature

Resolution

End of the story where loose ends are tied up

Climax

Most exciting moment of the story; turning point

Limited setting

Most short stories use a single setting; this allows the writer to focus on the development of the plot, without having to continually describe new settings.

Third Person

Narrator is not a character, but sees the world through only one character's eyes and thoughts (he, she, they, his, her, their).

Point of view

Perspective from which a story is told.

Second Person

Point of View that uses a narrator who refers to you, the reader, as a character in the story (you, your).

Unity

Short stories are reduced, concentrated forms of writing, meaning that every detail must contribute to the unity of the story.

Reduced time frame

Short stories are too concentrated to allow large shifts in time frame of the action. The events of of the story are compressed into a short period of time.

Setting

The context in time and place in which the action of a story occurs.