Elements of fiction

Fiction: any literary narrative which is created in the author’s mind

Plot

Unity of Action: The plot has unity if it is a single, complete, and ordered action in w which none of the parts is unnecessary. The parts are so closely connected that without one of the parts the work would be disjointed.

Plot is a system of actions in a purposeful sequence represented in a work. Wristlet defines plot as that which has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Exposition: background information on the characters, setting, and situation, usually found at the beginning of a story

Rising Action: begins when the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is set in motion and ends with the climax

Climax: the turning point or the moments of highest intensity in the work when either the protagonist or antagonist must succeed

Falling Action (Dénouement): the action which works out the decision made in the climax--the story unravels

Resolution: the portion of the play or story where the problem is solved, providing closure

Suspense: an anxious uncertainty about what is going to happen to characters with whom the reader has established bonds of sympathy

Surprise occurs when the events that occur in a literary work violate the expectations we have formed. The interplay between suspense and surprise is a prime source of the power of plot.

Intrigue: a scheme set up my a character which depends for its success on the ignorance of the person(s) against whom it is directed

Flashback: the writer interrupts the chronological sequence of a story to related an incident which occurred prior to the beginning of the story

Foreshadowing is a writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in the story. The use of this technique both creates suspense and prepares the reader for what is to come.

Point of view

Point of View is the outlook from which the events in a work are told.

The methods of narration are ...

Omniscient Narrator: The third person narrator is all-knowing and relates the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of all the characters.

Limited Omniscient Narrator: The third person narrator relates the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

First Person Narrator: A character, often the protagonist, narrates the story in the first person.

Objective Narrator (detached observer): The third person narrator sees and records the information from a neutral or unemotional viewpoint.

Setting

Setting: the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs

Local Color: the use of details which are characteristic of a certain region or section of the country

Theme

Theme is a statement about life or universal truth which a particular work is trying to get across to the reader. In stories written for children the theme is often spelled out clearly at the end of a story when the author writes "... and so, the moral of the story is ..." In more complex literature, the theme may not be so moralistic in tone, or at least not so clearly spelled out.

Motif is a term for an often-repeated character, incident, idea, or image in literature which is used to convey themes.

Ambiguity is the deliberate use of a word or expression to convey two or more diverse attitudes or feelings.

Character

Character: a person (sometimes a group of people, an animal, or a physical force) invented by an author who has impact on the outcome of the story. Character motivation must be consistent; the character must be convincing and lifelike.

Protagonist: the hero, chief character, or force in the work which the reader wants to succeed

Antagonist: a force or character opposing the protagonist who tries to stop the protagonist from reaching his/her/its desired goal.

Foil: a character who serves by contrast to emphasize the qualities of another character

Conflict

Conflict: The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist. The conflict can be threefold: 1) conflict between individuals, 2) between character and circumstances intervening between him and a goal she/he has set for her/himself, and 3) conflict of opposing tendencies within a single individual’s mind.

There are five basic types of conflict:

Person vs. Person: One character in the story has a problem with one or more of the other characters.

Person vs. Society: A character has a conflict or problem with some element of society--the school, the law, the accepted way of doing things, and so on.

Person vs. Self: A character has trouble deciding what to do in a particular situation.

Person vs. Nature: A character has a problem with some natural happening: a snowstorm, an avalanche, the bitter cold, or any of the other elements common to nature.

Person vs. Fate: A character has to battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem. Whenever the problem seems to be a strange or unbelievable coincidence, fate can be considered the cause of the conflict.

Types of Fiction

Prose is often used as an inclusive term for all discourse, spoken or written, which is not patterned into the lines and rhythms either of metric verse or of free verse.

Short Story: a short piece of prose fiction (generally 1-50 pages) which is unified around a single effect; each element of the story--character, plot, theme, setting, tone, imagery, etc.--contributes to that effect

Novella (Novelette): a prose fiction story of medium length (generally 50-125 pages)

Novel: an extended piece of prose fiction (generally 125+ pages) which usually has many characters and develops complex plot

Chapter: a major division of a novel

Allegory: a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or generalization about life; allegories often have a strong moral or lesson

Parable: a short, descriptive story which illustrates a particular belief or moral

Technique

Tone is the author’s attitude toward his/her subject matter. The tone might be solemn, formal, playful, or serious; it is created through word choices and sentence structure.

Mood is a feeling a piece of literature evokes in the reader: happy, sad, peaceful, etc..

Atmosphere is created by the tone pervading the literary work, atmosphere shapes the reader’s expectations about the plot (whether the events will be happy, sad, disastrous, etc.).

Stream of Consciousness: a style of writing in which the thoughts and feelings of the writer are recorded as they occur

Verisimilitude: an illusion of reality created in a fictional work