Short Story Intro

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

 Short Stories

What are we going to do?

• Short stories: Tools and their definitions
• Apply these tools (some of them)
• Write down your own catchy short story

Let's start with short stories...

What are short stories and how do they work? 

Grab your notebook and write down keywords while watching the following video. 

Characteristics of a short story

• It started as  sung/ told tales and ballads
• 19th century: the current form (written down and printed, usually in magazines) 
• It is called short, doesn't mean it's always short.
• There is usually a twist at the end
• Often reveals a certain aspect of a character 

Tools for working on short stories

• Plot, structure and tension
• Character
• Theme 
• Setting, time and mood
• Narration and point of view
• Irony

What is a short story?

 It is narrative prose that is usually centered around one single event.

It has an introduction, body and a conclusion.. 

Plot and tension

• The plot is the development in the story. One action or event relates to another action or event.
  

       Example: The King died, and the Queen died of grief. 

• Tension (or suspense) relates to the plot. The more (unexpected) things happen, the more tension a reader will experience. Tension or conflict is usually the heart of  the story

Character

• Protagonist, main character: usually one or two
•  readers often connect with the character. 
• Description: often uses labels: e.g. jealous, courageous, cheeky, though, strong, weak, etc. 
• Round or flat character.  Round  He/she is changes.
• Flat character (does not change) .  

Theme

• The theme is the message of the story. 
• When you know the theme you will understand the story. 
• Some keywords for themes: love - revenge - redemption - good vs evil 
• You need to be able to describe the theme, so a theme is usually more than a keyword. 
• Stories contain multiple themes  

Setting/ time and mood

• Time and place:
•  Examples for place: country, house, room
• Examples for time: specific year or era, war time, future, seasons

Point of view

• The narrator is the person or other character who is telling us the story. 
• Usually it is clear who the narrator is. 
• Different narration types

First person or I-narrative

• It is told from a particular character's point of view, as they  are experiencing it themselves 
• you don't get the perspectives of other characters. 
• uses first person pronouns (I, we, me, us) 

Third person narrative

• tells the story using third person pronouns (they,  their, he, she) 
• Usually narrated by an outsider, someone who doesn't appear in the story. 

All-knowing or omnicient

• The narrator knows all and sees all.
• thoughts and feelings of different characters

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly
normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything
strange or mysterious, because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.

1. First person
2. Third person
3. Omnicient

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.

1. First person
2. Third Person
3. Omnicient

Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain. Fifteen-year-old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and reminded one of a colt … Elizabeth, or Beth, as everyone called her, was a rosy, smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression, which was seldom disturbed … “

1. First person
2. Third person
3. Omnicient

Title

• The explanation of the title may help you understand the theme of the story. 
• The author will want to make you think 
• For example: One Flew over the cuckoo's nest 

Irony

• Think of sarcasm. When it is raining and someone tells you: "What a lovely day to be outside."
•  What you hear or see does not match with reality.
  
• Often used in cases of misfortune:
  Win the lottery and die the next day
  Being hit by an ambulance

What is the Irony here? 

What is the irony here?

What is the irony here?

Flashback

• The author jumps back in time. 
• It oftens contradicts or proves something in the present. 

Foreshadowing

•   writers uses it to hint to readers something that is to follow      or appear later in a story.
•   it creates suspense and dramatic tension for readers.
•   For example: In Game of Thrones: "Winter Is Coming"