Characters A story holds the reader's interest when the characters seem so real they could walk right off the page. To get them walking, you can use realistic details from the people around you as well as from your imagination. To develop your characters, you might make a list, a cluster, or a chart of details. Setting The time and place of your story is the setting. Setting can be just a backdrop for the action, or it can be very important.
Setting can also help create a mood, or atmosphere.
Plot What happens in the story is its plot. Others focus on one or two important events. To develop an effective plot, think about the following main elements. Conflict - Your story situation must hold a conflict or problem. Events - One action should lead to another as the character struggles to solve the problem or conflict.