The Anatomy of a Story
Updated: Nov 3, 2022
What exactly is a story? What exactly is it made of?
A storey always follows the same structure: beginning, middle, and end. But is that all there is to it? There are certain elements that always and without fail make up a story. Otherwise, there is no story, or at least none that is worth telling, let alone reading.
An Introduction to Story Elements
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The Elements of A Story
1. The basic elements of any story
2 Advanced Elements of a Story:
Five essential elements of plot explained
1. The basic elements of any story are:
1.Setting: This is when and where the story takes place. The setting contains not only the physical location but also the time (i.e. past, present, future), as well as the prevailing social and cultural conditions in which the characters exist
2. Character : The character of a story can be anything personified, such as a person, an animal, or an object. Main characters can be one or many, while secondary characters are often present, but not always.
3. Plot : The events that take place in a story are referred to as the story plot. A plot usually begins with an introduction, rises (rising action), reaches a climax, falls (falling action), and, finally, ends with a resolution, also known as denouement.
An arc is a common way of describing plots.
4.Conflict: Every story must have a conflict, which is in fact, the challenge or issue that drives the story. If the story has no conflict, it has no direction,therefore, it has no meaning or interest. . 5. Theme: The theme of a story can be a belief, a lesson, a moral, or insight. It's the central point that the author is trying to convey to the reader. Think of the theme as the “why” of the story.
2 Advanced Elements of a Story:
1. 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. –
2. 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).
3. Style: This is how things are said. Word choices, sentence structure, dialogue, metaphor, simile, hyperbole.
Five essential elements of plot explained
1. Exposition/Introduction: In the exposition stage of the plot of a story, the setting and characters (especially the main character, known as the protagonist) are introduced, as well as the main problem, conflict or goal of the story.
2. Rising Action: The rising action stage involves an inciting incident. The inciting incident pushes the plot into motion, events begin to build, the protagonist takes action, and the storyline becomes more complex. During this phase, there is often a sense of tension.
3. Climax: The climax is the turning point in the plot of a story. It involves a “climax” (hence the name) – the central struggle. The protagonist faces the main challenge which will eventually lead to the outcome or goal of the story. Typically, this is the most emotional part of the storyline and it often involves the most action.
4. Falling Action: During this stage, the action winds down, loose ends get tied up, events are resolved and we learn the results of the protagonists’ actions.
5. Denouement/Resolution: In the denoument stage, the goal is resolved and the conflict ends (could be positive, negative or neutral). This is the end of the story.
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