Short Stories

9 English – Mr Jensen

Unit Overview

• Looking at features of Narrative Texts and Short Stories

• Assessment: You will write a Short Story, based on a piece of stimulus provided

• Due: First Lesson Wk. 5• Own and class time to complete

Narrative Text Features Review

• Plot • Characters– Hero– Villain– Mentor– Helpers

• Setting• Theme/issue

Blackadder the Third

• Characters:– Prince George– Mr Blackadder– Baldrick– Samuel Johnson– Byron, Shelly and Coleridge

Short stories and narratives

An introduction…

Mr Jensen

Definitions:• Narrative:• A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of

writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures, video games, theatre or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events. ...

• The systematic recitation of an event or series of events; That which is narrated; Telling a story; Being overly talkative; garrulous

• narratively - In a narrative manner: in the form of a story; In terms of the narrative

• A Verse or prose accounting of an event or sequence of events, real or invented. The term is also used as an adjective in the sense "method of narration. ...

• poetry that tells a story• Telling a story. Ballads, epics, and lays are different kinds of narrative poems.

Definitions:

• Short story:• a prose narrative shorter than a novel • A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose,

often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer ...

• Fiction under 10,000 words.• A short fictional narrative. It is difficult to set forth the point at

which a short story becomes a short novel (novelette), or the page number ...

• a short prose fiction usually depicting a single incident (unlike most novels). A newer form than the novel, the modern short story dates from the early nineteenth century.

But what actually constitues a story?

• There are four (4) key parts of any story/narrative/short story or plotline:– 1. Title and Orientation– 2. The Complication/s– 3. The Climax– 4. The Resolution

But what actually constitues a story?

• Title and Orientation.– Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness

of three dimensions: time, place and person.– The Orientation of a short story introduces us to the

setting of the story including where, when and who/the main characters.

– The Orientation MUST be interesting and catch the readers attention and make them want to keep reading!

But what actually constitues a story?• The Complication/s– The complications of a short story are the little

events that occur as the plot ‘thickens’ towards the ‘big event’ in the story – e.g. Finding Nemo (discuss)

– The complications add tension to a text and excite or stimulate us to keep reading and engaging with the story more and more.

– The complications lead us up to… (next slide)

But what actually constitues a story?

• The Climax!– The Climax is the ‘big event’ of a story!• E.g. Finding Nemo (discuss)

– This type of event is led up to by the complications and is the point of maximum tension.

But what actually constitues a story?

• The Resolution…– The resolution is the part of the story where the

tension is released.– You could call it the wind down or the ‘happily

ever after’ moment.– E.g. Finding Nemo (discuss)

So how else can we put this?

Describing Setting

• A hospital ward at midnight…– Sounds like?– Looks like?– Feels like?– Smells like?– Tastes like?

• Write 3 or 4 adjectives after each sense.

Or…