Elements of Fiction

1
Elements of Fiction

• Conflict

2
The Purpose

• Why do we like stories?
• What drives us to turn the page?

3
The Driving Force

• Conflict drives the reader to turn the page. It
  is the most important element of a story
• You can have a story without symbolism or
  exposition, but no story can be successful
  without conflict.

4
How important is conflict?

• Other popular mediums rely heavily on conflict.
• Films, Nonfiction, Journalism, TV, etc.
• The elements of fiction dont just cover
  fictional stories. They actually cover any story
  intended for entertainment.

5
Conflict Remains
6
Resolution

• Most stories end with a resolution, or the
  outcome of the action and conflict. It is up to
  the characters to find a solution to the
  conflict. You may be able to predict how the
  characters will solve the conflict based on how
  they act.

7
The Cliff Hanger

• When a conflict doesnt have a clear outcome,
  the resolution may not be that effective.

8
Jumping the Shark

• When your favorite TV show resolves its main
  conflict, the writers of the show will stretch to
  create more conflict.
• Friends, Happy Days, Lost, etc.
• Even the show about nothing had to have
  conflict in every episode.
• Game shows are also an example.

9
Types of Conflict

• Internal
• Individual vs. Self
• External
• Individual vs. Individual
• Individual vs. Society
• Individual vs. Nature

10
Individual vs. Self

• Is a story where the main character has a problem
  with himself.
• The problem is internal or in other words, the
  problem is in his/her head.
• Doesnt mean that the external forces cant have
  an influence.
• Can you think of any stories with this conflict?

11
Individual vs. Individual

• An Individual vs. Individual conflict can be
  described as a conflict arising between two or
  more characters of the same kind. An example of
  this might be a fist fight between two people.
  Such as the Protagonist (main character) vs. the
  Antagonist (villain or someone whos against the
  protagonist).

12
Individual vs Society

• Individual vs. Society is a literature theme in
  fiction in which a main character (or characters)
  thinks differently from society or has different
  concepts than what most people think.

13
Individual vs Nature

• Individual vs. Nature is the theme in literature
  that places a character against forces of nature.
  Many disaster films focus on this theme, which is
  predominate with many survival stories.

14
Quiz

• 1. What is the conflict of the following story?
• Individual vs Individual
• Individual vs Self
• Individual vs Society
• Individual vs Nature

15
Quiz

• 2. What is the conflict of the following story?
• Individual vs Individual
• Individual vs Self
• Individual vs Society
• Individual vs Nature

16
Quiz

• 3. What is the conflict of the following story?
• Individual vs Individual
• Individual vs Self
• Individual vs Society
• Individual vs Nature

17
Quiz

• 4. What is the conflict of the following story?
• Individual vs Individual
• Individual vs Self
• Individual vs Society
• Individual vs Nature

18
Quiz

• 5. What is the main driving force behind a story?
• conflict
• plot
• resolution
• characters

19
Quiz

• 6. If the conflict doesnt have a clear outcome,
  what might lose its effectiveness?
• conflict
• resolution
• plot
• characters