The Protagonist who is the main character whose journey we follow in the story.This is the part of the story where the characters and setting are introduced to the reader. There are generally four types of characters:
Storywriting arc how to#
To show you how to analyse a short story with plot structure, I will be referencing the Bengali story of Devdas by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, which was adapted into a very successful Bollywood movie by the same name. There are five main structural features of a short story: The reader should not only understand what is happening in your short story, but what it all means. Similarly, when you properly weave together things that happen with things that matter in your short story, you make that vital connection with your readers. Naturally, a finished product has to have a harmonious look and feel when it’s draped across your body. The other is ‘story elements’ which is the ‘underlying factors that drive the narrative action: protagonists, conflicts, setting, etc.’Ī helpful analogy for how to create a traditional short story structure is when you weave a piece of fabric. The first is the plot which is ‘what happens’ or the chain of events that occur in your short story. Structural Features Of A Short StoryĪs stated, there are two parts within any short story structure. Let’s take a closer look at what all this actually means.
Structure is about timing – where in the mix those elements go.’ It is the orderly arrangement of a story material for the benefit of the audience. Plot is about elements, those things that go into the mix of making a good story even better. ‘Simply put, structure is what assembles the parts of a story in a way that makes them accessible to readers. The structure for a short story is not dissimilar to that of a full-length novel – your readers still expect the same rise and fall. The most basic story structure is called the ‘narrative structure’ and is defined as ‘the order in which elements of a narrative are presented to the reader or audience.’Įssentially, there are two parts to it which are:Īuthor of Plot & Structure, James Scott Bell, provides a further explanation: It may seem formulaic or predictable in the beginning but trust the process and you’ll soon see results. Then, we’ll have some fun practising how to apply the generic story structure template to your work.īy the end of this exercise, you’ll have gained the confidence to create short stories that both make you happy and showcase your talent. So now you have your amazing idea, it’s time to structure it and turn it into short fiction, Learn How To Write A Great Short Storyįirstly, let’s look at the various types of structure used when writing short stories structures and how to analyse them. In this article, Jericho Writers founder and author Harry Bingham, explains how to go from a seed on an idea to a novel (or short story)Īnd finally, in this article, Harry is back explaining world building in fiction and how to create setting that will help your story come alive. In this article, award-winning author Patrice Lawrence will guide you through the myriad ways you can find inspiration – from reading poetry and other books, to observing real life around you. But for those of you confident about how to write a short story but need some inspiration to get you going, here are a few Jericho Writers articles to kick-start your creativity. Some people have a great idea but struggle to turn it into a story (in which case you can skip to the next part).
Where can you get your short story idea from? So let us begin there… Getting Started: The Big Idea But you can’t start writing short stories until you have an idea. In this article I will be talking about what make a great short story and looking at the various structures you can use to keep readers gripped. So, if after finishing writing your short story you’re left thinking, This is so boring! Where have I gone wrong? Is there a short story plot or structure I can follow? – then you’ve come to the right place. Because chances are you may need to rework your short story structure. Short stories are notoriously difficult to write, and that’s often because the writer hasn’t understood the basics of good story structure. Simply put, it’s a story you can read in one sitting. A short story is a piece of fiction between 1,000-4,000 words (although it can go as high as 15,000 words).
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