Elements of Fiction

What makes a book?

What is Narrative Text?

• Narrative refers to a story—an account of events or experiences– EX: Hatchet

• We learned about his personality, problems, and how he deals with his problems.

Parts of a Narrative

1. Character

2. Setting

3. Conflict/Problem

4. Events

5. Climax

6. Resolution

Beginning, Middle and End

• Every story can be broken up into three parts: the beginning, the middle and the end.

Beginning Middle End

Characters

Setting

Problem or Conflict

Events in the Rising Action

Climax

Event(s) in the Falling Action

Resolution or Conclusion

Plotting the Story on the Plot Pyramid

• Once you can determine the beginning, middle and end of the story as well as the characters, problem, climax and solution, you are ready to plot the story on a pyramid like the one below:

Middle/ClimaxMost intense part

Beginning/ExpositionCharactersSettingProblem

Ending/ResolutionWas the problem solved?If yes, how?

Rising ActionEvents

Falling ActionEvents

Character

• Characters – the people, animals, or fantastic creatures that perform the actions (see other overhead sheet)

Types or Roles of Characters

• Narrator – or speaker (one who is outside the story & knows everything about all the characters & what will happen in the plot)

• Protagonist – is the hero or heroine of the story (the central or principal character)

• Antagonist – active opposition or hostile character of the story (causing conflict or problem), doesn’t have to be a person

Character continue• Round Character – one who possesses a

complex array of individual traits

• Flat Character or Stereotype – one who performs a single function, such as a gas station attendant, and who reveals no depth of feeling, involvement, or intent to the story

Character continue

• Static Character – a character that remains unchanged by the action of the story

• Dynamic Character – a character that alters in behavior as a consequence of the action of the story. Protagonists are usually dynamic character.

• Major Characters – primary character(s), in the story a great deal

• Minor Characters – characters that come in & out of the story that are not a primary character

Setting

• Setting – the place of action at a particular time (can be imaginary)

Conflicts• Internal Conflict -

– problem or conflict inside the protagonist• Examples –

– Protagonist’s fear– Protagonist’s lack of confidence – Et cetera

• External Conflict -– Problem or conflict outside of the protagonist

• Examples– Another character– An animal or fantasy creature– Natural phenomena – Et cetera

Events

• the things that take place in the story that are important and lead to the climax and the resolution (also known as Rising Action and Falling Action)

Climax

• the most intense part of the story, physically or emotionally

Resolution

• the conclusion, tying up all the loose ends, telling how it all ended up

• Point of View – the angle at which the reader perceives & interprets the action – from whom it is told

Point of View

Point of View When Writing

• First Person –

I, me, we, us (always

includes yourself)

• Second Person –

You

• Third Person –

He, she, it, they, them, etc

(all the others)

Point of View within a Story

• First Person Point of View - I point of view such as a journal, personal letter, or autobiography

• Third Person Limited Point of View - from a single character’s point of view – he, she, which is popular with fiction writers (tunnel vision)

• Third Person Omniscient Point of View – Narrator is outside the story & knows everything that happened or is happening and knows what goes on in the minds of all characters

Tone

• Tone – the author’s attitude toward the subject matter, such as humorous, serious, joking, ironic, mocking, or doubtful

Theme

• Theme – the main idea of the work, as summed up in such abstract terms as love, faith, parenthood, patriotism, loss, or alienation

Mood - (me)

• Mood – the prevailing atmosphere of the story, for e.g. brooding, expectant, forbidding, solemn, relaxed, joyous, or intense (although mood & tone are often similar, the author can manipulate the mood of the piece to indicate humor or irony, as in a mock-serious battle or a parody of a brooding Gothic mystery)

Created By Suzanne Grady