Creative Nonfiction Elements & Techniques PDF

Elements of Creative Nonfiction PLOT A term used in literature to refer to the chronology of interrelated events that make up a story. In some cases, some writers resort to flashback or flash forward. Elements of Plot Exposition Rising action Climax Falling acti...

Elements of Creative Nonfiction PLOT A term used in literature to refer to the chronology of interrelated events that make up a story. In some cases, some writers resort to flashback or flash forward. Elements of Plot Exposition Rising action Climax Falling action Conclusion FREYTAG’S PYRAMID A method of structuring The basic plot a story by mapping the structure for any progression of conflict from inception to narrative was laid resolution. out by Aristotle. FREYTAG’S PYRAMID Each story has a beginning, middle, and an end. Aristotle Everyone! The plot of the story still has rising and falling action! Let me show you what it should look! Gustav Freytag Exposition/Introduction It is where the story sets the basic setting (time and place) and the characters of the story. Familiarity with the relationships between characters, and the relationship of the protagonist to his or her surroundings.  Rising Action - Usually the longest section of the story. - It develops and depicts the tension caused by the conflict that was set up in the introduction. - It consists of further complication or obstacles that befall our struggling protagonist.  Climax -The turning point or the point of no return. - The tension has risen to the highest point, and causes a reversal of fortune for the protagonist.  Falling Action This is the part of the story where the fate of our protagonists begins to be decided. It usually includes the actions that are taken as a result of the climactic fortune reversal in order to resolve the conflict. The length of this section varies, but it has decreased in significance in the recent tales.  Resolution This is when the conflict is resolved. Either the protagonist succeeds in his or her goal that is developed in the introduction or (s)he fails.  Denouement - It is a kind of debriefing period when the change that the protagonist has undergone throughout the story is flushed out or analyzed. - This can happen in any number of places after the climax, or not at all. Characters TYPES OF CHARACTERS Are the persons, Major or Central animals, and Minor other beings Dynamic that give life to Static the story. Round Flat  Major or Central Characters - Are vital to the development and resolution of the conflict. - In other words, the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these characters. -an important figure at the center of the story's action or theme.  Minor Characters - Serve to complement the major characters and help move the plot events forward. - Usually a character who's not the protagonist or one of the main supporting characters or secondary characters. They usually have a relatively small role and often only appear for a few scenes. But even if they aren't on stage for very long, minor characters can have a big impact on the story. Dynamic Characters A person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis. is one who learns a lesson or changes as a person (either for better or for worse) Dynamic Characters Example: Aladdin from the movie ALADDIN - In the beginning of the movie, Aladdin was poor and a trouble maker with his friend monkey. But through out the movie, Aladdin meets a magic genie that helps him change his looks and make him look rich.  Static Characters - Someone who does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or evolve. - Character who does not change by the end of the story no matter the conflict and ethical dilemmas are. - does not change throughout the story. No matter what they experience, their  Static Characters Example: Disney's famous villain from "The Lion King," Scar, remains the same evil lion that he was at the beginning of the film.  Round Characters Anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person. refers to a character in a fictional work with depth or a complex personality. This character type seems lifelike to readers because they learn many details about them, such as their history, thoughts, emotions and personality traits.  Round Characters Example: -Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley and Severus Snape are among some of the round characters in this series.  Flat Characters - The opposite of round characters. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic. - A character with little to no complex emotions, motivations, or  Flat Characters - Often called stock characters, never deviate from their rather simple traits. These characters are often used to support main characters in a story. - a character that lacks complexity and has a one-dimensional personality. Flat characters typically stem from a stereotypical character like “bully” or “boss.” They can often be described in  Difference Between Static and Flat Characters A static character is one who doesn't undergo any significant change in a story, whereas a flat character is a one-dimensional character who isn't layered or deep—rather, a flat character just has one or two traits that make up their whole personality.  Flat Characters Example: In Disney's Finding Nemo, the sea turtle, Crush, is an example of a flat character. Crush personifies the stereotypical “surfer-dude” in the film with his constant use of the word “dude”.  POINT OF VIEW Is the perspective from which a story is narrated. Every story has a perspective, through there can be more than one type of point of view in a work of literature. The most common points of view used in novels are first person singular (“I”) and the third person ( “he” and “she”).  SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE The definition of setting The setting of a piece of could also include social literature is the time statuses, weather, and place in which the historical period, and story takes place. details about immediate surroundings.  SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE Some settings are very Setting is a fundamental specific (Wolf hall aspect of fiction, along manor in Wiltshire with plot, character, England in 1500), while theme, and style. It others are descriptive (a provides the backdrop to the story and helps created boat out on the ocean) mood.  SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE In many narrative examples the setting can act almost as a nonhuman character, affecting the characters in many different large and small ways. FIGURES OF SPEECH Figures of Speech - Are deviations from the standard or ordinary use of words for the purpose of producing a special meaning or literary effect. - They are classified into tropes (those figures which produce semantic shift or change in meaning, for example, similes and metaphors) and schemes (those figures which produce an effect in the patterning of letters in a word or words in a sentence), for example Metaphors, litotes, irony and  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF COMPARISON Simile A figurative 1. Life is like a game. comparison with the 2. Your love is like the sun. use of as or like. 3. Your lips are red as roses. Subtle Comparison Metaphor A figurative 1. Life is a game. comparison with out 2. Your lips are roses. the use of as or like. 3. Life is a rosary full of mystery. Direct Comparison  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF CONTRAST Oxymoron Combines 1. Old news contradictory 2. Deafening silence words with 3. Living dead opposing meanings Paradox A seemingly self- 1. The more you hate, the contradictory more you love. statement which can be proven to be true. KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES Irony A statement 1.For Brutus is an of one idea, Honorable man. the opposite 2.You’re so lovely of which is today; you look like meant. a Christmas tree.  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF REPRESENTATION OR REFERENCE Metonymy - A figurative 1. The subjects pay taxes to the representation of one crown. (for King or Queen) thing for another. 2. There is Death (poison) in the - a word is substituted soup. for another word that it 3. Hand as a substitute for assistance. is closely associated with 4. Tongue as a substitute for language. Synecdoche A figurative 1. I feed seven mouths (for persons) representation of a part 2. “All hands on deck!” (uses “hands” for a whole or of a to signify the whole sailors. whole for a part. 3. “Nice wheels!” (uses “wheels” to designate a whole car.) Personification A figurative attribution 1. Earth with her thousand voices of personal or human praises God. qualities to things that 2. Money talks. are not human, e.g.  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF OMISSION Asyndeton -Omission of 1. I’ll give you the sun, the moon, the connectiveness, e.g., a stars above. conjunction (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) or a linking verb. Aphaeresis -Omission of a letter/s 1. ‘Tis the season of Christmas (It is) from the beginning of a 2. ‘Cause I found you. (from because) word. 3. round (from around) -The loss of one or more 4. specially (from especially) sounds or letters at the beginning of a word Syncope -Omission of a letter/s 1. Somewhere o’er the rainbow (over) from the middle of a 2. Home art zone. And ta’en they. word. (taken)  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF OMISSION Apocope Omission of a 1. It’s everlastin' letter/s from the 2. "photo" - end of the word. "photograph."  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF SOUND Alliteration - Repetition of the initial 1. Pedro Paterno picked a pack of pad letter or sound in a paper. succession of words. 2. She shall sell seashells along the seashore 3. Clary closed her cluttered clothes closet. - a literary device that 4. Jimmy jaunts to jilting haunts. involves two or more words that appear close together and have the same initial stressed consonant syllable Onomatopoeia Use of a word to indicate a In the field, birds chirp, cows moo, dogs sound. bark, cats meow, snakes hiss. Assonance Repetition of the vowel 1. Haste make waste. sound (not necessarily the 2. Nine times ninety nine. initial sound) in a succession of words.  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES FIGURES OF SOUND Consonance Repetition of the consonant 1. Hickory dickory dock. sound (not necessarily the 2. Mike likes his new bike. initial sound) in a succession of words. 3. example from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven: Consonance is used by writers to communicate “And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling rhythm, mood, and flow of each purple curtain while Alliteration is a Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic subtype of consonance that requires the similar sounds terrors never felt before” be placed at the beginning of closely connected words.  KIND DEFINITION EXAMPLES OTHER FIGURES Hyperbole An exaggeration or 1. Cowards die a thousand over statement for times. literary effect. 2. The orphaned child cried an ocean of tears. Pun A play on word to 1. House’s everything for all produce Filipinos. humorous, witty 2. See you lighter. effects. 3. Hopia like it! 4. Let’s taco ‘bout it. DIALOGUE - Derived from the Greek word “dialogos” meaning “ conversation”, dialogue is a written or spoken conversation between two or more people in a work of literature. - It is rarely found in poems and non- literary essay. SCENE - A scene is a dramatic sequence which takes place within a single locale or setting on stage. It refers to a subdivision of an act within a play. THEME - The central controlling idea or the unifying statement of entire literary work. - Either directly stated or simply implied, it takes the form of a brief and meaningful insight or a comprehensive vision or life. VOICE - The individual style in which a certain author writes his or her work. - It involves different literary devices and stylistic techniques, including but not limited to syntax, semantics, diction, dialogue, character development, tone, pacing, and even punctuation. Thank You!