Understanding Narrative Structure: Short Stories

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Questions to Answer before you begin to structure your story:

1. What is the overall theme or message?(purpose)
2. What is the tone and genre you want to portray?
3. How will your main character illustrate this point?

This is the structure that most authors use to plan their fiction books, however, it is modified for short-form fiction.

Introduction

Inciting Incident

• Remember that in a short story, the first scene must introduce the protagonist and exposite the premise of the story.
• Immediately answer the question of why we are following this protagonist and why it matters
• Demonstrate the internal conflict and make sure it is connected to the theme and message of the narrative.

Thesis/ concept statement

• In no longer than a paragraph, make sure to establish the premise of your story through setting and context. This is the setup for the upcoming conflict in the narrative.

Ex: In the short story “ All Summer in a Day”, by Ray Bradbury, the phrase “it had been raining for seven years” immediately establishes the concept that serves as the driving force of…