Of all the genres of writing in any language, the most easily recognisable and widely used is perhaps the short story. A person’s creativity can be expressed through the various pathways it provides: dialogues, descriptions, interesting characterisations, exciting narration, action scenes, etc.
From an examination point of view, it is easy, however, to confuse a short story with its cousin, say a narration of an event or a recount. They may contain similar elements. But, while a short story may have all the elements of a recount, the vice versa is not necessarily true. This is where many pupils lose marks. They begin in an interesting manner and have a memorable ending. But the actual telling of the story doesn’t happen well. They miss the plot (pun intended).
A plot is a sequence of events that occurs from the beginning to the end of a story. It tells how the story progresses. It makes up the story arc. In other words, a plot is the story in essence.
There are six elements to any kind of plot:
1. Introduction or Exposition:
The beginning or the exposition is the introduction to the story. It is very important to have this in the story because you will be letting the readers know who the main characters are and where the story is happening. Without it, the reader will be fumbling in the dark, unable to make head or tail of the story.
2. Conflict or Problem:
Without a problem to solve, what are the characters doing in the story? If they are just going about their business in their lives, then that is no longer a short story. The story is a narration of some events that happened. There needs to be a problem that the characters overcome to be able to go about their regular lives. The conflict is a very important element of a story as that is the reason the rest of the story exists.
Many of you may be confusing a short story with a recollection of a particular time. For example, a fun time at the beach is a recount of a memorable family holiday and not necessarily a short story unless there is a problem that gets solved at the end. So, remember that the next time you write a story!
3. Rising Action:
The rising actions of a story are the events that complicate the problem or arise due to it. Once the conflict has been introduced, there will be events that ensue thereafter and the characters will get busy trying to solve it. Before they come to the high point or the climax of the story, there will be progressive complications that they need to wade through. The rising action is literally everything that happens before the climax.
4. Climax or High Point:
The climax or the point of suspense of a story is the point where the efforts of the main characters’ endeavour bear fruit. This is the peak of the story where the characters will either solve the problem or give up finding the solution. (Remember, not all conflicts of stories have solutions) This is the highest point of suspense in the story which will keep the readers at the edge of their seats thinking, ‘Will they or won’t they.’ The characters’ actions and choices drive the outcome of the story. You must use every ounce of creativity here to create the necessary suspense.
5. Falling Action:
Once the problem has been dealt with, the tension in the story will begin to loosen. Things will begin to go back to being what they were. Temperatures will fall and the various questions that arose during the course of the story would have been answered. At this point, the loose ends will be tied. This is the best time to have a look through your story one last time and provide links and tie-ups with parts that didn’t fit anywhere.
6. Denouement or Conclusion:
This is the concluding part of the story. The ‘normal’ needs to be re-established at this point. However, this new ‘normal’ will also include the experiences that your characters went through and the permanent changes that took place to the setting of the story. It will be the ‘new normal.’ It is also an emotional wrapping up by the readers after having known your characters.
But it is also important to keep in mind that the conclusion of a story is not necessarily always happy or satisfactory. Some stories end in tragedy and some stories do not provide a solution to the conflict. In such cases, the readers need to accept the way things are, because, after all, life isn’t always hunky-dory, is it?
You must remember to create a convincing conflict or a problem that gets a believable solution at the end. Even if it is a fantasy story with dragons or talking objects, the ending should be related to the original conflict. It must answer the problem that the story began with.