NAME

________________________________

Elements of a Story Notes

Five Basic Elements of a Story
1)
2)
3)

4)
5)

CHARACTERS
Characterization refers to __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Two types of characterization (and what they mean)
1.

2.

Most authors use this type of characterization: _____________________________
Five Ways We Learn About Characters
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Types of Characters
A character that does not undergo (go through) changes in a story is called a
__________________ character. An example would be __________________________.

A character that does change in a story is called a ________________________
character. An example would be ______________________________.
Other Character Terms to Know
A protagonist is _________________________________________________________.
An antagonist is _________________________________________________________.

NAME ________________________________
CONFLICT
Conflict is _______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Two types of conflict are EXTERNAL CONFLICT and INTERNAL CONFLICT.
An external conflict happens when ___________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Categories of External Conflict:
Person vs. Person This is a type of external conflict in which _____________________
________________________________________________________________________
Person vs. Environment - This is a type of external conflict in which _________________
________________________________________________________________________
Person vs. Technology - This is a type of external conflict in which __________________
________________________________________________________________________
Internal conflict occurs when _______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Examples of internal conflict may include ______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Internal conflict is sometimes called __________________________________________.

SETTING
Setting tells us ________________________ and ________________________ a story
takes place.
Two purposes of setting
1.
2.

POINT-OF-VIEW
Point-of-View refers to ___________________________________________________.

NAME ________________________________
1. First Person Point-of-View
(A) The narrator is a _______________________________ in the story.
(B) The narrator uses the words __________ and ___________ when telling the story.
(C) We learn only what the narrator __________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Second Person Point-of-View
(A) The narrator refers to the main character as _____________, thereby

_______________________________________________________________________.
(B) The narrator is NOT part of the story. The narrator is just ______________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
3. Third Person Point-of-View
Third Person Omniscient

Third Person Limited

Where should you NOT look when trying to determine a storys point-of-view? _______
THEME
Theme is ________________________________________________________.
Theme applies to not just one story but _______________________________________.
Theme is NOT the same as a storys ______________________.
A theme is typically written as a statement, and you can look at it as ________________
_______________________________________________________________.