Body - Short Story Form 3

Elements of
Narrative Writing
A closer look at the Body of a short story.
Objectives
► List the elements of the body of a short story.

► Analyse sample body paragraphs in a short story.
► Create a body paragraph in groups.
Structure of a story
Climax
Reveals the extent of the problem or conflict
Rising action Falling action

Describes setting, Involves the resolution and theme.
characters,
and introduces
a problem/ conflict.
Body of a short story
► 2-3 paragraphs that are expository in nature.

► Plot- Rising action and Climax
► Say how things happened. For example, how did people become aware of the
problem?
▪ Introduce an antagonist. Remember to develop your antagonist. (use physical,
emotional descriptions and discuss their actions and use specific dialogue that
separates them from the other character.)
▪ Say what happens in detail. For example, did one action lead to another? What
caught your attention? (Paint a picture using literary devices and appealing to the
emotions and senses of the reader, as well as, dialogue.)
▪ Say how the protagonist feel/s and evolves.
▪ Give reasons or supposed reasons for actions of the characters.
Sample of Body paragraphs- The
Problem
► As the door painstakingly creaked open, the stark contrast in environment hit Moor like a
truck. This two-story house was just like all of the other stereotypical ones he had seen in
horror movies and video games: abandoned and dying. The air was packed with thick grey
dust that was the result of presumably decades of neglect which had now been unsettled.
It formed a full coating obscuring the bright red of Moor’s t-shirt and stifled his breath,
forcing him to spend several minutes coughing and wheezing. Tying his handkerchief over
his nose and mouth, he continued to push forward. The rotting brown floorboards cringed
under his weight as he cautiously plodded through the house. All around him were signs of
a long-forgotten time: cracked windows, walls with chipped and peeling paint, scattered
piles of garbage on the floor, markings where furniture once sat, and archaic-looking light
fixtures which had popped out of their sockets. The whole house was dark, only
illuminated by the rays of golden light from the evening sun stretching through the
windows. Its only inhabitants were now just several small spiders colonizing the single
rotting bookshelf that remained in what was the living room, and the occasional
cockroach.
Expansion of the problem
► To Moor’s profound disappointment, his search initially turned up nothing. No

special trinket, treasure, heirloom or stash of valuables. Nothing. That is until
he happened upon the ladder leading to a previously-unknown attic. Ascending
the measly old ladder, he found an assortment of cardboard boxes of different
shapes and sizes strewn about. Some lay empty, while others contained
mundane items. However, something odd in the corner of his eye caught
Moor’s attention. It was a red metal toolbox, one unlike the others. “Surely,
this one has something good in it,” he surmised. And to his relief, he was
proven right. Laying as if it was specifically meant for him was a large wad of
100-dollar bills. Moor rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was being deceived,
but alas, it was still there. As he held it up in his trembling hands, visions of
hasty, unrestrained spending flashed across his mind. Just as everything had
taken a turn for the better, however, something else totally stopped his heart.
The Climax
► Squeak, squeak, squeak. Moor heard this soft but sure sound emanating from the floors
below him. His heart skipped a beat. This was no small animal making these noises. They
had force to them, a definite pressure, and repeated with a constant rhythm. It was
definitely a second set of footsteps, but whose were they? A vagrant? A crook? Another
investigator? All of these possibilities scurried around the confines of Moor’s mind, but he
certainly did not want to find out. At best, he would have faced some light embarrassment,
but in the worst-case scenario, it was certain death. With his head on a swivel, he spotted
the sole window looking out of the attic, and found that he could climb out of it and onto
the roof covering the front porch below. In no time he followed suit, frantically clutching
onto the box for dear life, as if it would help him. Finding a pile of old garbage bags to the
side of the porch, he leapt off the roof and into the bags with a loud crash. He heard the
walking inside turn into running, and it was getting louder and louder. With his heart ready
to fly out of his chest, Moor got up and sprinted for the road. A “HEY!” in an angered male
voice cried out behind him, confirming Moor’s suspicions, but he didn’t want to look back
to see who it was. He just kept running and running until he reached the front yard of his
own family’s home, collapsing on the lawn.
Sample body paragraph of a short story
Body- Read “Journey By Night” on page 62 in your English for All Book 3-
► Introducing the problem ( lines7- 18).
► (Climax lines 19-32).
Closure
► Exit- note name one thing that you

remembered or learnt from today’s
class.
Feel free to send me you questions in
the stream/ privately?

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Elements of

► List the elements of the body of a short story.

Rising action Falling action

► 2-3 paragraphs that are expository in nature.

► To Moor’s profound disappointment, his search initially turned up nothing. No

► Exit- note name one thing that you

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