PLOT
In Star Wars, it's when the Death Star blows up.
What is the climax?
This is the term for the character or voice from whose point of view the story is told.
What is the narrator?
A character struggling with depression.
What is internal conflict? (Person vs. self)
These traditional stories usually involve animals that behave like people.
What are fables?
A story's underlying idea or message is called this.
What is a theme?
Once upon a time, a young girl lived in a small village in the countryside, with her mother, brother, and two sisters.
What is exposition?
The name of this point of view literally means "all-knowing."
What is omniscient point of view?
A character trapped on a deserted island in the ocean with nothing but a volleyball. "Wilson!!!"
What is person vs. nature?
You might not notice this hint at a later event... unless you're reading closely.
What is foreshadowing?
This technique uses a specific object or image to represent a bigger idea.
What is symbolism?
The plot is usually propelled forward by this. (The story would be pretty dull without it.)
What is the conflict?
In this point of view, a character narrates the story directly in their own voice.
What is first person point of view?
"Excuse me, this is my seat."
"Uh, no, I'm pretty sure I was sitting here."
What is person vs. person?
It's not just the weather. It's how the weather makes you feel.
What is atmosphere?
This type of simple story is designed to teach a clear moral lesson.
What is a parable?
This series of "escalating events" leads to a story's climax.
What is rising action?
Like a camera, this point of view only shows the characters' speech and actions... not their thoughts or feelings.
What is objective point of view?
A character rebelling against their country's government.
What is person vs. society?
These descriptions of sensory details (sights, sounds, etc.) help you picture the scene clearly... like a movie in your mind!
What is imagery?
This type of fictional story presents a "disguised" version of a specific real or historical event... if we can figure it out!
What is an allegory?
The end of a story is formally called this, since the conflict is usually over.
What is the resolution?
This point of view describes the thoughts and knowledge of a single character, but does not use "I" voice.
What is limited point of view?
Oh no! It's the zombie apocalypse!
What is person vs. the supernatural?
Careful -- no, precise -- no, meticulous -- authors will put time and thought into this process of choosing the best possible word to convey their meaning.
What is diction?
This is the most important purpose of a story.
Some of the (many) possibilities:
To express and communicate the author's ideas.
To engage/educate/entertain the reader/audience.
To encourage empathy and new perspectives.
To broaden our mind or imagination.