What types of short stories are there?

Traditional forms of short narratives are still popular today. Fables, myths, legends, and tales continue to delight readers. Writers have added the modem short story, tall tales, science fiction, and horror stories to the material available to readers. Each form has the typical elements of a narrative — plot, character, setting, and narrator.

Although they all have similar elements, they also have differences.

Fables

Fables come from the oral tradition of story telling. Local tribes created and passed on fables as a form of moral education. A fable directly states the moral it communicates at the end of its story. Animals with human qualities serve as characters. Each character symbolizes a specific aspect of human nature. The message being communicated is more important than character development, setting development, or plot development.

Myths

Myths were written to explain how creation came about and how people should lead “moral” lives. Myths, too, have their origins in oral story telling. The characters are normally gods or goddesses. Although the characters have special abilities, they still behave as humans with both negative and positive characteristics.

Greek authors have written many of the myths that still exist today. These writers, most of whose names are unknown, appealed to people’s emotions by placing the characters in fantastic situations.