Elements of Fiction

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Elements of Fiction
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Plot

• Plot is the events that tell the story. Every
  plot is a series of events that are related to
  one another.

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Plot Diagram
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Exposition (Introduction)

• The beginning of a short story.
• The characters are introduced.
• The setting is described (geography, time)
• Conflict is introduced.

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Point of View Who is telling the story?

• Third Person Omniscient The narrator tells the
  story from an all-knowing perspective
• Unlimited scope reader knows everything everyone
  in the story is thinking and doing
• Loss of intimacy the reader isnt
• drawn into the story

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Point of View Who is telling the story?

• Third Person Limited Third person, told from the
  viewpoint of one character in the story.
• The narrator restricts his knowledge to what one
  character sees and does.
• The readers perception of other characters is
  affected by the narrators prejudices
• and personal limitations

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Point of View Who is telling the story?

• First Person Story is told from point of view of
  one of the characters who uses the first person
  pronoun I.
• Reader feels as if he is in the story
• A strange or fantastic story is easier to believe
  if told by someone who is supposedly part of the
  story
• The reader can see, hear, and know only what the
  narrator sees, hears, and knows

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Characters

• There are at least two main characters in a story
• Protagonist the main character in the story he
  or she may not be the good guy, but is the main
  character
• Antagonist the character that opposes the
  protagonist he or she may not be the bad guy,
  but always opposes the protagonist

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Characterization

• Every character can be characterized as one of
  the following
• flat - the reader doesn't know or learn much
  about the character over the course of the novel
• round - the reader knows and learns many things
  about the character over the course of the novel
• static the character doesn't change over the
  course of a novel
• dynamic the character changes greatly over the
  course of a novel

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Character Motivations

• The plot is developed through the internal and
  external responses of the characters
• Intellectual motivation
• Emotional motivation
• Physical motivation
• Status seeking

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Character Motivations

• The plot is further developed through unique
  human qualities
• Courage/fear
• Ambition/laziness
• Honesty/dishonesty

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Setting

• The setting means where and when
• a story takes place
• It includes the time the story takes place
• present (now)
• past (before now)
• future
• The setting includes important details or objects
  in the environment
• Abandoned warehouse
• Beautiful mountaintop

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Conflict

• The problem(s) the main character has to resolve.
• Types of conflict
• Internal Man vs. self
• External
• Man vs. man
• Man vs. society
• Man vs. nature
• Man vs. machine

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2. Initial Action

• The first event that begins the story.

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3. Rising Action

• This part of the story begins to develop the
  conflict(s). The story gets interesting.

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4. Climax

• The turning point of the story. The main
  characters conflict must be resolved. The main
  character changes in some way.

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5. Falling Action

• The conflict(s) and climax are resolved (ended).

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6. Dénouement

• The story comes to an ending.

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Putting It All Together
1. Exposition 2. Rising Action 3. Climax 4.
Falling Action 5. Dénouement
Beginning of Story
Middle-to-End of Story
End of Story