Elements of Fiction

Elements of Fiction

What makes a story?

Plot

Plot is the sequence of interconnected events within the story of a play, novel, film, epic, or other narrative literary work. More than simply an account of what happened, plot reveals the cause-and-effect relationships between the events that occur.

Parts of the Plot

• Exposition - During the exposition, the audience is introduced to key background information, including characters and their relationships to one another, the setting (or time and place) of events, and any other relevant ideas, details, or historical context.

• Inciting Incident - The first moment in the story that propels the protagonist from his ordinary life into the rising action.

• Rising Action - Begins with the "inciting incident" or "complication"—an event that creates a problem or conflict for the characters, setting in motion a series of increasingly significant events.

Parts of the Plot Continued...

• Climax - The climax is the turning point or highest point of the story. The protagonist makes the single big decision that defines not only the outcome of the story but also who they are as a person.

• Falling Action - The falling action of a story is the section of the plot following the climax, in which the tension stemming from the story's central conflict decreases and the story moves toward its conclusion

• Denouement - refers to the part of the plot which ties up loose ends and reveals the final consequences of the events of the story. During the dénouement, the author resolves any final or outstanding questions about the characters’ fates, and may even reveal a little bit about the characters’ futures after the resolution of the story

Setting

The Time and Place a story occurs.

There are several aspects of a storys setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):

a) place - geographical location.

b) time - When is the story taking place?

c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy/ four seasons

d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?

e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

       

  Integral Setting

- settings are key to a story, it affects the plot

•Often found in historical fiction, novel and non- fiction.

Setting is something rigid and might be added authentic details

• Stories could not be the same if placed in another setting

• Historical fiction recreates a particular historical period with or without historical figure as incidental figures

Background Setting

Settings are simply a backdrop for the action.

For example, "long ago in a cottage in the deep woods" and "once upon a time there was a great land that had an Emperor."

Multiple Choice

Which would be an example of an integral setting?

• In a small cottage, a young girl learns to be responsible as she grows up with her 5 younger siblings.

• Alice has a series of fanciful adventures with talking animals, an evil queen, and other magical creatures that could not happen in the ordinary world.

Characterization

Who are we dealing with in the story?

Main Characters

• Protagonist- The main character in a story, around whom the events of the story’s plot revolve.

• Antagonist- A character or group of characters that represent opposition to the main character of a story. 

Round Characters

• A character who has been fully developed by the author.

• The reader has a lot of information about the character.

• Complex

• The character has strengths and weaknesses.

Flat Character

• A character who has not been well developed by the author.

• The reader doesn't know a lot about the character.

• Simple

• A character who is too obviously good or bad.

Multiple Choice

Which character would be considered a round character?

• Shrek from Shrek

• The Gingerbread Man from Shrek

Dynamic vs. Static

Do the characters change?

Dynamic Characters

• Changes throughout the story

• Learns from conflicts

• Starts one way, but undergoes changes that will alter their point of view.

Static Character

• Stays the same throughout the story

• Undergoes no change when faced with conflict in the story

Direct vs. Indirect Characterization

How do we learn about our characters?

Direct Characterization

The author makes direct statement about the character letting the reader know what that character is like.

indirect Characterization

The author reveals details about the character through their thoughts, actions, words, and how they interact with other characters.

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of indirect characterization?

• He was bad, bad Leroy Brown, the baddest man in the whole town.

• She hid in the corner where no one could see her. When the coast was clear, she darted from the shadows, keeping her head down as she ran.

• He's a mean one, Mr. Grinch. His heart's an empty hole.

Conflict

The problem: there are five different types, and a story may have more than one.

Internal vs. External

• Internal conflicts exist within a character. This is when a character has to face their own thoughts or internal problems.

• External conflicts are when a character must face a force outside of themselves.

Types of Conflict

• Character vs. Character (external)

• Character vs. Society (external)

• Character vs. Nature (external)

• Character vs. Technology (external)

• Character vs. Self (internal)

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of a character vs. nature conflict?

• A character fights an army

• A character fights for social justice

• A character fights a sharknado

• A character struggles with their own laziness

Point of View

The perspective from which the story is told.

First Person

Told by someone IN the story, uses “I” and “me”

Third Person Limited

Told by a narrator, OUTSIDE the story, the narrator only knows thoughts of one character, uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, and “they”

Third Person Omniscient

Told by a narrator OUTSIDE the story, the narrator knows what all characters are thinking, narrator is all knowing (om=all), uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, or “they”

Author's Purpose

• Persuade (Convince)

• Inform (Educate)

• Entertain (Amuse)

Theme

The message about life that author trying to express (moral) it is a statement, a complete thought, not one word!

“Love” is not a message, but “love heals all wounds” is a theme

Theme=subject+lesson