ELEMENTS OF FICTION
Foldable Activity
Foldable Instructions
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Fold your sheet of cardstock hotdog style.
Draw 5 lines horizontally across the paper to
divide it into 6 sections.
You should have 6 flaps on your foldable when
finished.
Cut along those 5 lines to make flaps that open on
the front side of your foldable.
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DO NOT CUT THROUGH THE BACK!!!!
Label your sections in this order:
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Setting
Characters
Plot
Conflict
Theme
Point of View
What is a SHORT STORY?
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The short story is a work of fiction that is
shorter and more limited than a novel.
It usually focuses on one important event
in the lives of a small number of central
characters.
Short Stories vary in length but are
usually short enough to be read in one
sitting.
SETTING
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Time and place of the action that occurs in the story.
Setting Examples
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Place
 Where the action of the story taking place.
Time
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Past/present/future, time of day, year etc.
Weather Conditions
 Rainy, sunny, stormy.
Social Conditions
 Daily life of character, speech, dress, mannerisms, customs.
Mood & Atmosphere
 Feeling of the story, is it bright, cheerful, dark, or frightening.
CHARACTER
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A person or animal who takes part in the story
Often given human characteristics
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Two Types
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PROTAGONIST
 The main character of the story with
all major events having some
importance to this character.
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ANTAGONIST
 The opposite of
the main character.
Types of Characters
Dynamic Characters
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A character who changes or
grows throughout the story
Static Characters
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A character that does not change
in the story
PLOT – Sequence of related events in a story
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Exposition
 The beginning of the story where characters and the setting are revealed.
Rising action
 All of the events IN ORDER leading up to the climax
Climax
 The highest point of the story, the reader wonders what will happen next . . .
will the conflict be resolved or not.
Falling action
 How the climax is resolved
Resolution
 Final outcome or untangling of events in the story
 How the story ends
Plot Diagram
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A plot diagram shows how the main events in a
short story are organized.
CONFLICT – Struggle between 2 opposing forces
External Conflict
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A struggle with a force
outside one’s self
Another person, bad
weather, an animal, etc.
Internal Conflict
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A struggle with one’s self
A person must make some
decision, overcome pain,
quiet a temper, resist an
urge.
4 Types of Conflict
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Man vs. Man
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Physical - leading
character struggles with his
physical strength against
other men, or animals.
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Man vs. Nature
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Leading character
struggles against fate, or
circumstances of life
facing him/her, or forces
of nature.
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Man vs. Self
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Psychological - leading
character struggles with their
own ideas of right or wrong,
physical limitations or
choices.
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Man vs. Society
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Character struggles against
what is acceptable to
others in a community or
culture.
THEME
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The message the author intends to communicate . . . Main idea.
The controlling idea or central insight of the author’s underlying
meaning that he is trying to convey.
 EXAMPLE:
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Love is Blind
Believe in yourself
People are afraid of change
Don’t judge a book by its cover
POINT OF VIEW
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The vantage point from which the
story is told.
1st Person
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A character tells the story through his/her eyes.
It uses the first person pronoun "I."
3rd Person
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The narrator is all-knowing . . . they can tell the
reader everything.
The reader is able to see all of the characters' points
of view.
It uses the third person pronouns: he, she, they, etc.