Short stories
From ZuluNotes - Free Leaving Cert Notes
In any good story or short story 8 points must be taken into consideration.
Example used : Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Contents |
Narrative
Establish your style of writing: - first person e.g I woke up that morning... - third person limited eg Suzie woke up... - third person omniscient e.g The aliens landed in Paris as Suzie woke up...
Rowling wrote Harry Potter in third person limited style
Main Character
Introduce your main character/s. The main character should be the one we sympathize most with. You should know the most about this character and how s/he acts/reacts.
In the opening chapter we are introduced to baby Harry, this chapter tells us that he is a highly significant and certainly no ordinary boy.
Problem/Conflict
It is vital for a story to contain one of the following : - person vs. person - person vs. him/herself - person vs. nature - person vs. society - person vs. God/fate
There are many examples of this : Harry vs. The Dursleys, Harry vs. Voldemort, Harry vs. his longing for a real family
Characters and Settings
Give details of the characters within your story and their surrounding environment. Try to keep a balance between descriptive writing and action writing. Perhaps include dialogue to engage the reader.
E.g Ron and Hermione, Draco, Hogwarts, the Quiddich Arena
Tension
Have your protaganist fail to overcome his problem or encounter an even greater problem in the process. Build the tension to interest your readers.
Harry, Ron and Hermione realise that someone is attempting to take the Philosopher's stone.
Crisis
This is your protaganist's last chance. Use more action writing and short sentences here to make it exciting.
I'd call Fluffy a Crisis, wouldn't you?
Climax
Now your protaginist must succeed using his/her intelligence, creativity and /or courage etc.
Harry faces Quirrel/Voldemort alone.
Reflection
This is the aftermath, the result of what has happened so far in your story. The significance should be highlighted here.
Here Dumbledore visits Harry in the hospital wing and explains a few things.
