What Makes a Story?
What Makes a Good Story?
Can the hero save the city from danger? Will the lost hikers reach home? Good stories capture our attention and make us curious about what will happen next. Although stories are different in many ways, all good stories share certain parts.
5 Elements of a Story
Consider two very different stories. One is about a city detective struggling to solve a case. The other is about space aliens invading Earth. Even though these stories are very different they have parts in common- the setting, characters, conflicts and a message or moral to the story.
5 Elements of Story- Mario Brothers
Take a look at the image to the left. Here are the 5 elements of a story told through Mario Brothers!
Even video games are designed to tell a story. A game like Mario Brothers has all the elements of a story to make the game engaging for the player!
If the video games you play didn't have a setting/s for the story to take place, a conflict or purpose and interesting and dynamic characters, video games wouldn't be nearly as exciting or as popular.
I am sure many of you have been spending time playing games just like these the past year.
Setting
Setting is the time and place of the action. The time can be the past, present, or future.
It can also be a season or time of the day. The place can be a room, a country, or any place you imagine. Often, the setting affects the story’s problem and how it is solved.
Characters
Characters are the people, animals, or creatures who take part in the story’s action.
The most important characters are main characters. Less important ones are minor characters. The characters’ qualities, such as courage, affect the story’s events and conflict.
Conflict
A conflict is the problem or struggle that a character faces in a story.
Character vs. Character - a struggle between two characters
Character vs. Nature - a struggle between a character and the setting or a force of nature, such as a storm.
Character vs. Self - a struggle within a character as he or she struggles with difficult problems.
Theme
“Winning isn’t everything.” “Follow your heart.” You’ve probably learned lessons like these at one time or another. Your own experience is usually the best teacher, but literature can also communicate important truths, or themes. A theme is a message about life or human nature that a writer wants readers to understand.
In this unit, you’ll learn how to figure out what the stories you read really mean.
What is Plot?
Some plots will seem like real-life events to you, while others will seem contrived (unrealistic), or completely invented. A contrived plot is more fantastic than realistic. It might even be unbelievable.
Most plots have five stages. Learning about these stages can help you keep track of a story’s events and answer the question, “What happened?” when someone asks you about the story. Thinking about what happened and why will also help you judge if a plot is realistic or contrived.
Check it Out!
Your last job for today is to take a look at the interactive story of Cinderella that examines the 5 elements of a story and reviews plot. You will then click on the ticket out below to answer some questions on elements of a story!
