These are the basic elements of a story that you learn about in elementary school:
1. Setting: Where and when is the story set? Setting represents both the physical location but also the time (i.e. past, present, future) and the social and cultural conditions in which the characters exist.
2. Character: A person or animal or really anything personified. There can be one main character or many, and often there are secondary characters, but not always.
3. Plot: The plot consists of the events that happen in the story. In a plot you typically find an introduction, rising action, a climax, the falling action, and a resolution. Plot is often represented as an arc. To learn about plot in detail, read the article: “What is a Plot.”
4. Conflict: Every story must have a conflict, i.e. a challenge or problem around which the plot is based. Without conflict, the story will have no purpose or trajectory.
5. Theme: Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the central argument that the author is trying to make the reader understand. The theme is the “why” of the story.
In high school, you start learning the advanced elements of a story:
6. Point-of-view: “Who” is telling the story? First person (“I”) or third person (“he/she/it”). Limited (one character’s perspective), multiple (many characters’ perspectives) or omniscient (all knowing narrator). Second person (“you”) is not often used for writing stories.
7. Tone: The overall emotional “tone” or meaning of the story. Is it happy, funny, sad, depressed? Tone can be portrayed in multiple ways, through word and grammar choices, choice of theme, imagery and description, symbolism, and the sounds of the words in combination (i.e. rhyme, rhythm, musicality).
8. Style: This is how things are said. Word choices, sentence structure, dialogue, metaphor, simile, hyperbole. Style contributes significantly to tone.
Answers & Comments
Answer:
These are the basic elements of a story that you learn about in elementary school:
1. Setting: Where and when is the story set? Setting represents both the physical location but also the time (i.e. past, present, future) and the social and cultural conditions in which the characters exist.
2. Character: A person or animal or really anything personified. There can be one main character or many, and often there are secondary characters, but not always.
3. Plot: The plot consists of the events that happen in the story. In a plot you typically find an introduction, rising action, a climax, the falling action, and a resolution. Plot is often represented as an arc. To learn about plot in detail, read the article: “What is a Plot.”
4. Conflict: Every story must have a conflict, i.e. a challenge or problem around which the plot is based. Without conflict, the story will have no purpose or trajectory.
5. Theme: Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the central argument that the author is trying to make the reader understand. The theme is the “why” of the story.
In high school, you start learning the advanced elements of a story:
6. Point-of-view: “Who” is telling the story? First person (“I”) or third person (“he/she/it”). Limited (one character’s perspective), multiple (many characters’ perspectives) or omniscient (all knowing narrator). Second person (“you”) is not often used for writing stories.
7. Tone: The overall emotional “tone” or meaning of the story. Is it happy, funny, sad, depressed? Tone can be portrayed in multiple ways, through word and grammar choices, choice of theme, imagery and description, symbolism, and the sounds of the words in combination (i.e. rhyme, rhythm, musicality).
8. Style: This is how things are said. Word choices, sentence structure, dialogue, metaphor, simile, hyperbole. Style contributes significantly to tone.
Explanation: