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short story

Satisfactory Essays

Short Stories: Characteristics
•Short - Can usually be read in one sitting.
•Concise: Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told. This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot
•Usually tries to leave behind a single impression or effect. Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act.
•Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing personal experiences and prior knowledge to the story.
Four Major components of the Short Story
•PLOT
•SETTING
•CHARACTERS
•THEME
#1 PLOT
•The action that takes place in the story. It is a series of connected happenings and their result. In order to have a result, we must have an initial event, or …show more content…

Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson.
Of course, as with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author.
Length determining what exactly separates a short story from longer fictional formats is problematic. A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to be read it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe 's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846). Other definitions place the maximum word length at 7,500 words. In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000.
Short Story Structure
• Create a narrative lead: show the main character in action, dialogue, or reaction.

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