Elements of a Story

Characters and how we get to know them:
1. through the author's physical description of them
2. Their actions
3. Their words
4. Their inner thoughts
5. Through what other characters say and think about them

Plot - A pattern of events that develops from the interactions between characters.

A plot is a pattern of events in a cause and effect relationship.
1. Cause - Things that make something happen.
2. Effect - What happens because something was done.

Conflicts - The problems the characters encounter. Their conflicts can be:
1. External - conflict with others and with nature
2. Internal - conflict within themselves

Setting - Time and place of the story

Theme - The meaning behind the events and the characters' actions.

Narrative - The Point of View and Verbal tense of the narrator. How much the narrator intrudes into the story.