Short Story Terms

Antagonist

character or force that opposes the main character (protagonist) and creates conflict in a story.

Direct Characterization

when the author explicitly describes a character’s traits, qualities, or appearance to the reader.

Indirect Characterization

when the author reveals a character’s traits through their actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, or how others react to them.

Dilemma

situation in which a character must choose between two or more difficult or undesirable options.

Editorializing

when the narrator or author inserts personal opinions or commentary into the story, rather than presenting events objectively.

Fantasy

genre of fiction featuring magical elements, imaginary worlds, or supernatural events that are not possible in real life.

Flat Character

simple, one-dimensional character with limited traits

Foreshadowing

literary device where the author gives hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story.

Melodrama

dramatic work that exaggerates emotions, characters, and events to appeal strongly to the audience’s emotions.

Motif

recurring element—such as an image, idea, or symbol—that helps develop and inform a story’s theme.

Narrator

person or character who tells the story to the reader.

First Person Narration

when the story is told by a character using “I” or “we,” giving the reader direct access to their thoughts and perspective.

Third Person Omniscient Narration

when an all-knowing narrator describes the story and can reveal the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Third Person Limited Omniscient Narration

when the narrator tells the story from one character’s perspective, revealing only that character’s thoughts and feelings.

Third Person Objective Narration

when the narrator reports only what can be seen and heard, without revealing any characters’ thoughts or feelings.

Obstacle

something that stands in the way of a character achieving their goal, creating conflict and driving the plot forward.

Plot

sequence of events in a story, showing how the characters and conflict develop from beginning to end.

Plot Manipulation

when an author unfairly twists events or outcomes in a story, often to force a surprise or resolve conflict, rather than letting events unfold naturally.

First Person Point of View

when the narrator is a character in the story, using “I” or “we” to share their personal perspective.

Omniscient Point of View

when the narrator knows all characters’ thoughts, feelings, and events, offering an all-knowing perspective on the story.

Dramatic Point of View / Third Person Objective

when the narrator only reports actions and dialogue, without revealing any character’s inner thoughts or feelings.

Protagonist

main character in a story, often facing conflict and driving the plot forward.

Realism

literary style that aims to depict life and characters accurately and truthfully, without idealization or exaggeration.

Round Character

complex and well-developed, showing multiple traits and undergoing growth or change throughout the story.

Sentimentality

excessive use of emotion in writing to provoke a strong, often unearned, emotional response from the reader.

Setting

time and place where a story’s events occur, including the environment, historical period, and culture.

Static Character

one who does not undergo significant change or development throughout the story.

Stereotyped Character

a simplified, one-dimensional character based on fixed, oversimplified ideas or clichés about a group or type.

Stock Character

a familiar, easily recognizable character type who appears often in literature, such as the wise mentor or the villain.

Stream of Consciousness

narrative style that presents a character’s thoughts and feelings as a continuous, unfiltered flow, often in an unstructured or fragmented way.

Structure

organized way a story or text is arranged, including its sequence of events, chapters, acts, or sections.

Style

author’s unique way of expressing ideas, shown through word choice, sentence structure, tone, and literary devices.

Suspense

feeling of excitement or tension about what will happen next in a story, keeping the reader interested and engaged.

Conventional Symbol

object or image that is widely recognized to represent a particular idea or concept, such as a heart for love or a dove for peace.

Personal Symbol

object or image that has special meaning for a specific character or author, not widely recognized outside that context.

Theme

central idea, message, or underlying meaning of a story, often about life or human nature.