Elements of Fiction

What is fiction?

What types of fiction are out there?

• Realistic• Science Fiction• Historical Fiction• Romance• Comedy• Fantasy

• Which one is your favorite to read?

What are the elements of fiction?

• Setting• Character• Plot• Conflict• Theme

Setting

• When and where the story takes place.

Character

• Two types of characters:– Protagonist : The main character– Antagonist: The character that works

against the protagonist

Is the protagonist always a good person?

Take a Note

• Think of your favorite character in a book or movie…….

• How does the author reveal what type of person this character is? Jot it down……

Character Development

• An author can develop a character through:– Dialogue– Description – Point of View– Actions– Body Language

Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Plot

Organization of PlotPlots can be told in

Chronological order

Flashback

In media res (in the middle of things) when the story starts in the middle of the action without exposition

Aristotle’s Unified Plot

The basic triangle-shaped plot structure was described by Aristotle in 350 BCE. Aristotle used the beginning, middle, and end structure to describe a story that moved along a linear path, following a chain of cause and effect as it works toward the solution of a conflict or crisis.

Freytag’s Plot Structure

Freytag modified Aristotle’s system by adding a rising action (or complication) and a falling action to the structure. Freytag used the five-part design shown above to describe a story’s plot.

Modified Plot Structure

Freytag’s Pyramid is often modified so that it extends slightly before and after the primary rising and falling action. You might think of this part of the chart as similar to the warm-up and cool-down for the story.

Plot Components

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Conflict Conflict is the dramatic struggle

between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Types of Conflict

Human vs Nature

Human vs Society

Human vs SelfInternal Conflict

Human vs HumanInterpersonal Conflict

Theme

• AKA: Moral• The lesson the characters and

readers learn from the story.• To discover the theme think about

what the character has learned through his/her conflict.

• PS. There can be more than one!

Point of View

• The perspective of the narrator of the story.

• Types: 1st person: I, me

2nd person: you 3rd person omniscient: all knowing

narrator 3rd person limited: facts and events are

reported from a single character

Mood vs. Tone

• Tone: what the author feels towards the subject

• Mood: what the reader feels

Tone Words

• formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, guilty, condescending

• List 5 more possible tone words:• __________, __________, _________,

___________,• _________