What are the Types and Structure of a Short Story
Back to: Pedagogy of English- Unit 5
A short story refers to a piece of prose fiction that can usually be read and completed in one sitting. The story focuses on a series of linked events or self-contained events with the intent to evoke a single mood or effect. It is brief and is shorter than a novel and mostly contains a limited number of characters.
Types of the Short Story
The different types of the short story are as follows:
Anecdote
An anecdote refers to a short account of a real person or incident that is amusing and interesting. It is usually used to support or illustrate a point in a chapter, essay, or article. Although they’re short, they do not have specific limits.
Drabble
A Drabble refers to a short piece of fiction that contains at least 100 words excluding the title. The main aim of the Drabble is to test the author’s skills of self-expression in a confined space.
Fable
A fable refers to a succinct story that features anthropomorphic creatures such as inanimate objects, mythical creatures, forces of nature, plants, and the like. It usually ends with a moral message.
Feghoot
A feghoot is a short piece of the story that is interesting and is also referred to as a poetic story joke or a story pun. It involves a humorous story that generally ends in an atrocious pun.
Flash fiction
Flash fiction refers to a piece of literature that is extremely short. It does not have a widely accepted length but it usually falls between 300 and 1000 words.
Structure of a Short Story
The structure of a short story is as follows:
Exposition
This is the short story part where the readers are introduced to the characters and settings. There are usually four types of characters which include the protagonist, the antagonist, the dynamic character, and the static character.
Rising action
In this part, the protagonist starts facing challenges and crises. The catalyst forces the protagonist to come out of his comfort zone and sets the story in motion.
Climax
The climax is often regarded to be the best part of the story and the protagonist is put to test at this stage.
Falling Action
Falling action includes the events that come after the climax and this is the part in which the protagonist begins to believe that he has failed.
Denouement
In this stage, the character has changed and the conflict has been resolved. There can be three types of outcomes in this stage which include the protagonist does not get what he wants, he gets what he wants, or even when he does not get what he wants, he realizes that he has something which is more important and valuable.
These are the structures one needs to keep in mind to write a good short story.
