Week 1 - Elements of Fiction PDF

Elements of Fiction WHAT IS FICTION?  Fiction  Fiction can  Fiction = have some true facts, events, or “make people though believe” or “not true” s...

Elements of Fiction WHAT IS FICTION?  Fiction  Fiction can  Fiction = have some true facts, events, or “make people though believe” or “not true” stories  Fiction Fiction: A vague and general term for an imaginative work, usually in prose. At any rate, it does not normally cover poetry and drama though both are a form of fiction in that they are moulded and contrived- or feigned. Fiction is now used in general of the novel, the short story, the novella and related genres. ~ Elements of Fiction ~ 1) Setting 2) Character 3) Plot 4) Point of View 5) Theme  1) Setting The TIME and PLACE of the story (The “When” & “Where” of the Story)  Setting Long Ago Today In the Future  Stories don’t always directly tell us their time period  Sometimes we must figure it out from “clues” / descriptions in the story such as the style of clothing worn, the activities done, or the technology used by the characters. Setting is also the “place” of the story Stories can have more than one setting Setting  When examining how setting contributes to a story, there are multiple aspects to consider:  1) Place - Geographical location; where is the action of the story taking place?  2) Time - Historical period, time of day, year, etc; when is the story taking place?  3) Weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?  4) Social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?  5) Mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Cheerful or eerie? Setting: Example «It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.» George Orwell, 1984 Setting: Example  “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it; the rest of me is on the draining-board." I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Setting can establish the atmosphere of a work. It Was a Dark and Stormy Night… Snoopy  2) Character A PERSON (or animals, things, etc. presented as people) in a fictional story (The “Who” of the Story)  Characters Protagonist The main character in a literary work. Antagonist The character who opposes the protagonist.  Types of Characters Round Character: convincing, true to life and have many character traits. Flat Character: One-dimensional character- stereotyped, shallow, often symbolic. Dynamic Character: undergoes some type of change in story because of something that happens to them. Static Character: does not change in the course of the story  Methods of Characterization direct- “he was an old man… characters’ thoughts, words, and actions reactions/comments of other characters "He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women , nor character’s physical appearance of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor characters’ thoughts contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy." 3) Plot  The storyline or series of events and actions that takes place in a story. The “What Happened?” of the Story  Plot  The plot of a story is where the reader learns what is happening and in what order:  First...  Then...  Next...  Finally...  Plot Climax Exposition Resolution  *a traditional plot line  1. Exposition: This usually occurs at the beginning of the story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story and most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict or problem  2. Rising action: Events in the story become complicated; the conflict is revealed.  3. Climax: This is the turning point of the story and is meant to be the moment of highest interest and emotion. The reader wonders what is going to happen next.  4. Falling action: All of the action which follows the Climax. The conflicts and complex are taken care of.  5. Resolution: The story comes to an end, the conclusion, the tying together of all loose ends of the plot.  Elements of Plot:Conflict A problem or struggle the character must face in the story  Elements of Plot Conflict Man VS Man Man VS Nature Man VS Society Man VS Himself There are 2 types of Conflict Internal: External: Inside the Outside the Character Character  Internal Conflict Internal Conflict Internal conflicts are thoughts or feelings the characters struggle with like thinking they are going to lose a game or feeling worried.  Internal Conflict Internal: Struggle within one's self. Character vs. Self - Struggles with own soul, physical limitations, choices, etc.  External Conflict Conditions or people that are causing problems for the main character are called external conflicts. These problems are happening “outside” of the character.  External Conflict External: Struggle with a force outside one's self. Character vs. Character - Struggles against other people. Character vs. Nature - Struggles against animals, weather, environment, etc. Character vs. Society - Struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of others Do you think this character is having thoughts and feelings right about now? Conflict Sometimes there can be both internal and external conflict as characters react with thoughts and feelings to the problems occurring “outside” of themselves. 4) Point of View The perspective from which the story is told. (Who is telling the story?) Point of View  There are several variations of POV: 1) First Person - Story told by the protagonist or a character who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters; speaker uses the pronouns "I", "me", "we". Readers experiences the story through this person’s eyes and only knows what he/she knows and feels. Point of View 2) Second Person - Story told by a narrator who addresses the reader or some other assumed "you"; speaker uses pronouns "you", "your", and "yours". Ex: You wake up to discover that you have been robbed of all of your worldly possessions. Point of View 3) Third Person - Story told by a narrator who sees all of the action; speaker uses the pronouns "he", "she", "it", "they", "his", "hers", "its", and "theirs". This person may be a character in the story. There are several types of third person POV: Limited - Probably the easiest POV for a beginning writer to use, "limited" POV reveals all action through the eyes of a single character; readers only see what the narrator sees. Point of View Omniscient- God-like, the narrator knows and sees everything, and can move from one character’s mind to another. 5) Theme  The central/mai n idea of a piece of fiction. Theme a general statement of the central, underlying, and controlling idea or insight of a work of literature. the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the writer’s view of the world or a revelation about human nature. can be expressed in a single sentence. Theme  Examples of common themes occurring in literature, on television, and in film are: Things are not always as they appear to be. Love is blind. Believe in yourself. People are afraid of change. Don't judge a book by its cover. REFERENCES  - Cuddon, J. A. (1999). The penguin dictionary of literary terms and literary theory. London: Penguin Books.  - Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G. G. (2009). A glossary of literary terms. Boston: Cengage Learning.  https://www.google.com/search? q=elements+of+fiction+ppt&rlz=1C1GCEU_trTR938TR938&oq=element s+of+fiction+ppt&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i19j0i19i22i30l8.5266j0j15&sour ceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#  http://www.conejousd.org/Portals/41/Hoegeman/English%20- %20Elements%20of%20Fiction.ppt  https://www.rcboe.org/cms/lib010/GA01903614/Centricity/Domain/4395/ Elements%20of%20a%20Story.pdf