The 7 types of stories (characteristics, examples and what they are for)

If we conceive the word "story" as a synonym for narration, both terms could be defined as the way of telling a story. sequence of actions carried out by a series of characters, in a specific place (or places) over a time interval determined. In its classic standard, a story collects a series of events that are exposed by a narrator (often omniscient), although this does not have to be the case in all cases.

Along with the story of anecdotes and events in our daily lives, narration is one of the literary genres most present in general culture. When you read a story, a romance, or even watch a movie based on a literary work, you are consuming a work of a narrative nature without realizing it.

Without going any further, many authors consider "narrative" the description of a current event in the form of news, because at the end and at the end out there is a third person who is exposing certain facts based on a specific place and time interval: how can you watch, the narrative is present in all areas of our life

. For this reason, we are interested in commenting, in the coming lines, the 7 types of stories and their main characteristics. Do not miss it!

• We recommend you read: "The 8 types of novels (and their characteristics)"

What are the main types of stories?

Before classifying the types of stories according to certain parameters, it is necessary to circumscribe at a technical level what a story really is. In order for it to be considered as such, the following literary resources must be included in it:

• Storyteller: one of the most important resources. Present and order the facts and the characters. It can be omniscient or be integrated into the story as one more element.
• Characters: entities not necessarily human that perform the actions described by the narrator.
• Argument: sequence of events that occur in specific places and time intervals. The description of the events is not necessarily linear in time.
• Setting: the sociopolitical, geographical and cultural context in which the argument is involved. The characters are immersed in it, so they can be conditioning factors for the development of the plot.
• Theme: what the story tries to convey. It is a relatively subjective concept and open to personal interpretation in many cases.
• Style: type of language used by the writer, registered resources, applied conventions, etc. It is something external to the plot and intrinsic to the author.

With all these elements, what we know today as a narrative or story is created. Based on the variation of these parameters, we can differentiate different types of stories. We will tell you briefly in the following lines.

1. Story

A short story is a short story created by one or more authors. It can be based on real events or rely on completely fictitious resources, but in all cases the plot is carried out by a reduced group of characters and the plot is simple and easy to follow, continue.

A story can be popular or literary. The former may contain folkloric characters and elements, that is to say, imaginary events (but of cultural domain) that have been presented in multiple versions throughout history. In these cases, the original authors are in most cases unknown, thus considering that the concept of the work as such belongs to a kind of social “heritage”.

The Ugly Duckling is an example of a classic tale. The original author is Hans Christian Andersen, but it has been adapted to multiple themes and languages ​​over the years.

2. Legend

Legends are stories that commonly mix supernatural events with everyday realities.. They are narratives that are transmitted from generation to generation, both orally and in writing.

The legends follow a very curious type of narrative, as they are characterized by intermingling supernatural elements (miracles, entities imaginary, supernatural powers and other resources) with a time and place similar to that of the community members who consume. Thus, an "illusion" of reality is created that can penetrate very strongly in the cultural tradition of a specific population group.

The legend of Romulus and Remus is one of the most famous in history. In it, he tries to explain the founding of Rome through two twins suckled by a she-wolf.

3. Myth

It is a type of story relatively similar to legend. In the myths, a fantastic court event tries to explain the origin of a place or event. In general, the most famous myths try to make sense of the origin of one's life and existence by using figures such as gods, demigods, heroes, monsters and other characters fantastic.

Myths differ from legends in that the latter take place in a real physical and temporal interval, generally with true protagonists. In a myth, to put it colloquially and easy to understand, creativity and fantasy reign.

The myth of Icarus is one of the best known. When Icarus tried to fly too close to the sun, the wings built by Daedalus were consumed and the character fell into the sea. A lesson in lack of humility and greed.

4. Novel

The novel is a fictional story much more extensive and complex than a short story. In it, a mock literary work is narrated (in whole or in part) in order to cause aesthetic pleasure to readers. This is done by using an eye-catching plot, full character development, and a correct contextualization of the time and physical interval in which the action is taking place proper.

In this type of literary works the narrative resource predominates, although dialogues, descriptions, interior monologues and epistles (letters) can also be used. As a common element, it can be mentioned that all the novels are relatively long: they move between 60,000 and 200,000 words. Almost every story you have read with more than 150 pages is a novel.

5. Chronicle

The chronicle consists of a series of real historical events narrated in chronological order. It is a literary device that escapes the fictitious and encompasses the real, as it is based on the testimony of eyewitnesses or contemporaries (in the first or third person) and uses a direct, simple, personal language and superimposes the informative capacity on the resources stylistic. Chronicles are also part of the journalistic genre. They are classified as "yellow" or "white" according to their content and subjectivity.

6. Biography

Biography is a type of narrative text in which an author narrates the life of a person, the important events that happened during her existence and, generally, the social contributions that said character made in a specific temporal and cultural context. When the author himself is the one who makes the biography, this type of work is considered autobiographical.

A biography is a story, even if it does not seem like it, because a succession of events is actually being told in a specific physical and time interval, with a real main character. The fact that it is not a fictional work does not imply that it is not considered a type of narrative. The biography of Cristina Ortiz (La Veneno) is an example of a biographical narrative work. In it, the experiences of the artist are told, based on the subjective vision of her events.

7. Reportage

A report is also a type of story of a narrative nature, although it is perhaps the most objective literary format that we have encountered so far. This documentary work is planned objectively and, therefore, your main goal is to inform readers of a concrete fact. However, it may also contain opinions and personal views of the author.

Michael Moore is one of the kings of subjective reporting in American culture. Pieces like "Bowling for Columbine" or "Farenheit 9/11" have become true cult works in the journalistic field.

Resume

As you can see, the term "history" (from a literary point of view) and "narrative" are practically indistinguishable terms, since both encompass a series of resources and structures to tell an event in an orderly way over time, be they real, fictitious or a mixture of both of them.

At the end of the day, a story requires a series of common elements to be such (narrator, time, space and characters), but, from here, freedom and practicality reign above all else.