Elements of Storytelling

Group 5

A logical sequence of events. It contrasts the development of action. This means to say that one event controls or overcome another event.

Plot

Refers to the layout of the materials of the story – the main characters, their backgrounds, their characters, interest, goals, limitations, potential, and basic assumptions. It contains the beginning of the story including the intricacies, twist, turns, false leads, blind alleys, and surprises that interest, perplex, intrigue, and give pleasure to readers.

Exposition

Rising Action is the action that occurs before the climax.

Rising Action

The consequences of the crisis. It is the peak of the story because it is the stage where a decision, an action, an affirmation or denial, or realization has to be made. It is the logical conclusion of the preceding actions for there are no new developments that follows after it.

Climax

Falling Action is the events that occur after the climax and lead to the resolution.

Falling Action

Resolution of the story is after the climax. This is when we find out what happens after the conflict is resolved between characters.

Resolution

The connected pattern of causes and effects which a character (protagonist) must face and try to overcome. Conflict brings out complications that make up most stories.

Conflict

There are two types of conflict: 1)  External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.2)  Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.

Two types of Conflict

1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals.

2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.

Four kinds of Conflict

3) Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people.

4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.

Identifies a basic problem or conflict.

Complicating incidents or obstacles

Highest point of Excitement

occur after the climax and lead to the resolution.

How the problem is resolved

Which present circumstances are explained by the selective introduction of past events.

Flashback

Stories tell about characters who are drawn from life and who can either be good or bad. A story is concerned with the major problem that a character must face. This may involve interaction with another character with a difficult situation. The character may learn for the better or may remain unchanged after the experience.

Characters

The basic trait of round characters is that they recognize, change with, or adjust to circumstances. The round character benefits from experience and changes are reflected in 1) an action or several actions, 2) the realization of a new condition,

Round Characters

or 3) the discovery of unrecognized truths. A round character often called the hero or heroine, and thus the protagonist. The protagonist moves against the antagonist.

Flat characters do not grow because they may be stupid, insensitive, or lacking in knowledge and insights. They are static, not dynamic. But flat characters highlight the development of round characters.

Flat Characters

Refers to characters in these repeating situation. Stock characters stay flat as they only perform their roles and exhibit conventional and unindividual traits. When the stock characters posses no attitudes, expect those of their class, they are called stereotypes they appear to have been cast from the same mold.

Stock Characters

1.  Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities. 2.  Developing - dynamic,  many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story. 3.  Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc. 

Characters are…

1. Action- expresses their characters.2. Descriptions, both personal and environmental- appearance and environment show much about a character’s social and economic status.3. Dramatic statements and thoughts – speeches of the most characters keep the story moving, but more significantly, provide material from which readers can draw conclusions.

Judgments about the qualities of the characters

4. Statements by other characters- what other characters say about a character will provide better understanding about him/her.5. Statements by the author speaking as a story teller or observer – what the author say about a character can be accepted factually.

Their actions, statements, and thoughts are reflective of what human beings are likely to do, say, and think under specific circumstances in the story.

Reality and Probability

The Natural, manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal environment – including everything the characters known and own. Characters may be helped or hurt by their surroundings, and they may fight about possession or goals.

Setting

a)  place - geographical location.  Where is the action of the story taking place? b)  time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc) c)  weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc? 

Types of Settings

d)  social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)? e)  mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story?  Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

Refers to the position of the voice that adapt for their works. It supposes a living narrator or persona who tells stories, presents arguments, or expresses attitudes such as love, anger or excitement.

Point of View

In the first person point of view, the character tells the story. Sometimes, the first person narrator tells a story that focuses on another character. The story therefore, depends upon the curiosity and sympathetic imagination of the narrator who describes his or her examination of various information relating to the major character, such as: what they have done, said, heard, and thought (first hand experience),

Participant or First Person Point of View

What they have observed others do and say (first hand witness), what others have told them )(second hand testimony and hearsay), what they are able to find (hypothetical or imaginative information) and what they are able to imagine a character or characters as doing or thinking, given certain conditions.

In the non-participant or third person point of view, the teller is not the character in the tale.

Non-Participant or Third Person Point of View

The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being different from that of an adult) .

Innocent Eyes

The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.

Stream of Consciousness

The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when he chooses. There are two main types of omniscient point of view:

Omniscient

a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.

b) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

Refers to the result(s) of general and abstract thinking. It may also mean concept, thought, opinion, and principle. There are many separate ideas in the story , but one of the ideas seems to be the major one. This is called theme. This is also called major or central idea.

Idea and Theme

Stories embody values along with ideas. This means that ideas are presented along with the expression or implication that certain conditions and standards should be or should not be highly valued.

Ideas and Values

In analyzing stories and ideas, it is important to avoid the trap of confusing ideas and actions.

Distinguishing Between Ideas and

Action

To determine an idea, one has to consider the meaning of what is read before developing explanatory and comprehensive assertions. These assertions may not be the same as the others. People notice different things and individual formulation vary.

How to Find Ideas

Literary Devices

A similar object, action, person, or place or somethingelse that stands for something abstract.

Symbolism

analogy is a comparison made between something that isknown and something less familiar. The purpose of creating ananalogy is to help others better understand a dif"cult concept orprocess.

Analogy

The series of Hints and clues to show the reader what will happen and, usually whether the upcoming events will be happy, fearful, sad, etc.

Foreshadowing

Describes how the writer arranges and places materials based on the general ideas and purpose of the work. Structure defines layout – the way the story is shaped. It refers to placement, balance, recurring themes, true and misleading conclusions .

Structure

Formal Structure is an ideal pattern that moves from the beginning to end. However, most stories depart from formal to real structure. Real Structure variations to increase the story’s impact.

Formal and Real Structure

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