Fiction

• Shorts stories

• Novels

• Plays

• Poetry

• Etc.

Definition of a Short Story

• Tells about a single event or experience • Fictional (made up)• 500 to 15,000 words in length (to be read in one sitting)• It has a beginning, middle, and end• Creates an impression on the reader

Definition of a Novel

• A novel is loosely defined as “a long work of fictional prose” (Roberts and Jacobs 1622).

• a novel has all of the fictional elements of a short story.

• The major difference is its length.

The Elements of Fiction

Every story has the elements of fiction whether it is a short story, a novel, a play, a movie, or even a television sit-com.

Point of Viewthe perspective from which the story is told

Two Points of View

• 1st Person: everything you know about the story comes from the narrator’s point of view who is a character within the story. You don’t know what the other characters in the story are thinking, saying, or doing when the narrator is not with them. This is an easy one to pick out because of the use of words such as “I”, “me” and “my.” The first person narrator is often easy to trust because you are listening to their version of the story.

Characters

• 2 types:

– 2 Dimensional – flat characters that we don’t know very much about personally or emotionally.

– 3 Dimensional – we know what they are thinking and feeling and they seem like real people to us.

The people (or animals, things, etc. presented as people) appearing in a literary work.

• The protagonist is the main character.

• The antagonist is the person in conflict with the main character. Not all stories have antagonists.

Characters

all stories are built on conflict

Conflict

Types of conflict:

1. Character vs. Character 2. Character vs. Society3. Character vs. Nature 4. Character vs. Self 5. Character vs. the Supernatural

Conflict… a problem in the story that needs to be resolved.

all stories are built on conflict

Setting

• The “Time and Place” of the stories action

• The setting has several different functions in the overall plan of the short story. It sets the mood or atmosphere of the story, such as romantic, scary, or depressing. In some stories, the setting is important in shaping the characters and events, but in other stories the setting is not clear or even important to the events of the story.

• the overall feeling of a story. • This can vary from dark to light, romantic to

comical, or suspenseful to peaceful. • The atmosphere is created by the words used to

describe the story.

Atmosphere/Mood:

Foreshadowing:

• a method of creating suspense in a story. This happens when the reader is given clues about what is going to happen in a story before it actually happens.

• The story’s main ideas. The “message” the writer intends to communicate by telling the story.

• Stated themes are directly presented in a story.

• Implied themes must be inferred by considering all the elements of a story and asking what message about life is conveyed.

Theme

• The plot of the story could be described as a type of road map that the author gives us.

• The main difference between the plot of a story and a map is the fact that the reader may not always know where the plot will take them.

PLOT

A PLOT DIAGRAM shows how the main events in a short story are organized into a plot.

- Exposition - The part of the plot that tells how the story begins. Introduces the characters, the setting, and the conflict

- Rising Action - The action in the story leading up to the climax.

- Climax - The point of crisis in the plot. When the action comes to its highest point of conflict. It may be the reader’s point of highest interest.

- Falling Action - The action in the story after the climax is revealed.

- Resolution - The part of the plot that reveals the final outcome.

Activity: Exploring Plot 1

In this activity you will find the main events in the fairy tale "Jack and the Beanstalk." Drag each event to the appropriate point on the plot diagram.

Activity: Exploring Plot 2

In this activity you will find the main events in the fairy tale “Cinderella." Drag each event to the appropriate point on the plot diagram.