Parts of the Story - Introduction

Been a while since I have posted anything here. I apologize to any of my viewers. Life happens, things get busy and I occasionally lose track of a few projects and/or things I have to work on.

But I am going to try and update this regularly again, and I will start off with a series of how stories are put together and the variety of elements involved in the story itself.

For now I want to introduce the story, but first we should split the story down into segments that I will focus and elaborate one when I can find the time to get the articles up (I will try for a weekly/bi-weekly post, but I am not sure).


The story is what makes anything. Stories have come in many forms, oral, written, visual, and a combination of the three. Stories can even be silent and a passing of imagery within our minds, or during our sleep in dreams.

So what makes up a story then? What elements are necessary to craft what needs to be told?

Usually we begin with the Plot. The plot is the overarching tale of what is occurring. Are aliens invading the earth? Has a fairy found a magic stone that could bring about the doom of the world? A strange man is somehow linked to a crime that he has no memory of witnessing, and yet he was found at the scene.
Plots can involve just about anything and any type of character. Speaking of which…

Second on the story are Characters. These characters are the people involved within the story. How well are they defined? What is the audience the story is being told for? Character’s and their depth will be defined in further detail when I do my section on characters, but for now, a character is a person in the story. They could anything from a dog, to the common human to an almighty being or supernatural force.

Lastly, there is the Setting. This is where and when the story occurs for the characters. Do they exist in a modern day with magically powered technology as opposed to electricity? Is the town being overrun by criminal activity and the people are in fear of strangers? Or does the story take place somewhere completely alien from all we know? Settings help define the laws and rules of the story, along with what exists and what has not yet happened or been thought of.

So with those three elements: The Plot, Characters, and Setting. We have the potential for any kind of story to be created, waiting to be told.

Next time we will jump into the Plot, and define characteristics about the plot and what makes it move, what makes it drag? The essence of a plot itself and other tropes like rising and falling action.