Story Elements

Story Elements

for fiction

​Setting

• ​When and where a story takes place

• ​Location, time of day, and even the weather are all important aspects of setting

• ​The best setting descriptions often appeal to the five senses (visual, auditory, etc.) to influence how the story feels

• ​Mood

​Read the following passage:

​It was my first day walking the tightrope at the circus. As I stood on the platform, high above the audience's heads, I felt a slight, cold breeze from the open flap of the circus tent. Up that high, I could only faintly smell the popcorn and cotton candy for sale down below. I heard the crowd chanting for me to begin, and I stuck one toe out to feel the thin tightrope wire. I swallowed-- if felt like I could almost taste my nervousness. I took a deep breath and let the air fill my lungs. I stepped out on to the wire.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following details contains a description of the story's setting?

• "I swallowed..."

• "...like I could almost taste my nervousness."

• "...on the platform, high above the audience's heads..."

• "...let the air fill my lungs..."

​Plot

• ​Plot is the term for the events that take place in a story and how they relate to each other.

• ​When we summarize a story, we're usually describing its plot.

• ​A good summary of a story's plot includes three main elements:

  1. ​Conflict. The hardship the characters have to overcome in the story

  2. Climax. The most exciting point in the story; the plot's turning point.

  3. ​​Resolution. How the conflict ends.

​Read the following fairy tale:

​A young boy named Jack trades his only cow for beans that he's told are magic. When he brings the beans home, his mother doesn't believe they are magic and becomes angry with Jack. Against his mother's advice, Jack plants the beans in the yard. A huge beanstalk grows. Jack climbs it and finds a giant's house at the top, full of treasures. He takes the treasure from the house and runs away as the giant chases him down the beanstalk. Jack reaches the ground and is able to chop down the beanstalk before the giant can get him. Jack keeps the treasure.

Multiple Choice

Choose the best summary of this fairy tale's plot.

• After climbing a magic beanstalk, Jack takes treasure from a giant's house, is chased down a beanstalk, and chops it down before the giant can catch him.

• Jack trades his only cow for magic beans and plants them. They grow into a beanstalk. 

• Jack's mother sends him out to sell their only cow, becomes angry that her son trades the cow for beans and scolds him.

• Jack loves his only cow but chooses to believe that the beans he trades for her are magic.

​Character and Main Character

• ​A character is somebody in a story. Characters can be humans, animals, or creatures.

• ​The main character is the most important character in a story.

• ​There are also secondary characters. The action doesn't necessarily revolve around them, but they can often be the most memorable.

Multiple Choice

According to the previous slide, secondary characters...

• can never be animals

• are the most important characters in a story

• don't provide a lot of information about a story

• can be memorable

​Conflict

• ​A conflict is a problem in a story.

• ​There are the things that the main character wants or needs to do, and then there are the things that get in the way of what he or she wants to do. That's usually the conflict.

​Read the following passage:

Sylvia found her Aunt Caroline especially aggravating. So when Sylvia was told she would have to spend Thursday afternoon with her aunt, she was peeved. She had wanted to go skating. Sylvia had been looking forward to it all week, yearning to glide and spin around the rink, hearing only the sound of the blades of her skates over the ice.

“But Aunt Caroline never has visitors,” Sylvia’s mother reminded her, and Sylvia supposed this was true. Aunt Caroline’s house was large and drafty with a big, overgrown garden at the edge of town.

“She doesn’t have any visitors because she doesn’t want them,” Sylvia told her mother.

“Sylvia, don’t be rude,” her mother said.

But it was true: Caroline discouraged most visitors. Besides Sylvia and her mother, the only person who visited Aunt Caroline was the mailman. 

Multiple Choice

Which os the following best describes the conflict in this passage?

• Aunt Caroline is often lonely

• Sylvia's mother wants to visit her Aunt Caroline

• Sylvia would like to go skating but has to visit Aunt Caroline

• The mailman often forgets to stop at Aunt Caroline's house

​External vs Internal Conflict

• ​Conflicts can be broken down as internal or external

• ​An external conflict is a problem that comes from the world around the character

• ​An internal conflict is a conflict within the character's mind

Multiple Choice

Which of the following characters would be facing an internal conflict?

• a character whose beloved dog has gone missing

• a character who tries to climb the world's tallest mountain

• a character who must decided if he should share his sister's secret with his parents

• a character whose car breaks down during a road trip

​Theme and Topic

• ​The theme of a story is an author's message about the world.

• ​A theme goes beyond the specific details of one story and is about a universal topic, such as friendship, freedom, or loneliness.

• ​A topic can be about friendship, while the theme would be a lesson about friendship

​Read the following summary of a story:

​After they lose their parents in a tragic shipwreck, three children are orphaned and go to live with their strange aunt in a small town in Nebraska. At first, they feel lost and lonely, but eventually, they come to understand their aunt and each other.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements might describe a theme of this story?

• Childhood is a time of great imagination

• Face your fears and you can defeat them

• Success requires hard work as well as luck

• With the love of family, we can overcome grief