The document discusses the key elements that make up a story, including characters, plot, conflict, theme, and more. It explains that stories have a basic structure of a beginning, middle, and end, but are comprised of deeper elements like characters, setting, plot points including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Additional elements covered are conflict, theme, narration perspective, tone, and style. The document provides definitions and explanations of each element to breakdown the anatomy of what constitutes a full story.

1. T h e A n a t o m y
Of A Story
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Breaking down a story to its elements

2. INTRODUCTION
What is a story?
What is it made up of?
A story always has the same structure:
beginning, middle , end. But is that all?
There are certain elements that make up a story ; always and
without fail. Otherwise, there is no story at all, at least not a
good story worth telling, let alone reading.
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3. The Elements of a Story Explained
01
Basic elements
of a story
02
The elements of
a plot
03
Advanced elements
of a story
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4. C
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5. Details can describe:
• Time of day
• Time of year
• Time in History
• Scenery
• Weather
• Location
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6.  person
 thing
 animal
 anything personified
 one main character
 or many
 secondary characters
- not always
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7.  The events that happen in a story
In a plot you typically find
 introduction
 rising action
 climax,
 falling action
 resolution.
 Plot is often represented
as an arc.
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8. Every story must have
 a conflict  a challenge or problem
 No conflict -> no purpose or trajectory.
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9. Idea
belief
moral lesson
insight
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the “why” of the
story
central argument the
author is trying to
make the reader
understand

10. No
plot?
No
story
exposition denouement
climax
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11. 1. Exposition/Introduction
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 the setting
 characters (main character,
protagonist)
 main problem
 conflict
 goal of the story

12.  an inciting incident
 pushes the plot into motion
 events are building
 protagonist takes action
 storyline more complex
 a sense of tension
Rising
Action
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13.  turning point
 in the plot of a story
 a “climax”– the central struggle
 protagonist faces the main challenge
 lead to the outcome or goal of the story
 the most emotional part of the storyline
 involves the most action
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Climax

14.  During this stage
 the action winds down
 loose ends get tied up
 events are resolved
 results of the
protagonists’ actions
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15.  Conclusion
 goal resolved
 conflict ends
 (could be positive, negative or
neutral)
 This is the end of the story
5. Denouement
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17. : “Who” is telling the story?
• 1st person (“I”)
• 3rd person (“he/she/it”)
• Limited (one character’s
perspective)
• multiple (many characters’
perspectives)
• omniscient (all knowing narrator)
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18. The overall emotional “tone”
feeling of the story.
happy, funny, sad, depressed?
Tone can be portrayed in multiple ways
 word and grammar choices
 choice of theme
 imagery and description
 symbolism
 the sounds of the words in combination
(i.e. rhyme, rhythm, musicality)
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19. This is how things are said
• Word choices,
• sentence structure
• dialogue
• metaphor
• simile
• hyperbole
Style contributes
significantly to tone
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20. Let’s recap!
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@karinkat e-mail: aikakat20@gmal.com
Thank you !