Ms. Muzaurieta’s Elements of Fiction
GENRE –All writing can be identified by category, or genre. This includes both form (novel, short story, drama/play, poetry) and content (memoir, realistic fiction, or horror). Note that both fiction and nonfiction works may be “narrative” in nature; genre gives a more precise label.
POINT OF VIEW – The point of view expresses who is telling the story; this is also called narrative voice.
In 1st person, a character tells his or her own story.
In 2nd person, the reader is actually a character in the story, as in Choose Your Own Adventure.
In 3rd person close (or limited), a narrator stays close to the experiences of only one character, or one at a time; readers actually hear about the internal thoughts of the character. In 3rd person far, the narration is more general and removed.
SETTING – Various clues tell time and place, or where and when the story is happening. The setting may be real or imaginary, specific or vague. It sets the stage for the action, and can help create an atmosphere or mood.
CHARACTER – We learn about the story’s people both through the narrator’s description and through their actions and dialogue. (Animals, or even objects, with personalities can be characters.)
Dynamic characters are changed by their experience, while static characters stay the same.
Main characters are very important, unlike minor characters.
The most important, or main, character is often called the protagonist. A character who causes trouble for the protagonist is called an antagonist. The main character might be a hero or an anti-hero, but not both.
QUEST is Ms. M’s word for what a character seeks to find, do, achieve, learn, or become. A character will probably encounter conflicts while trying to achieve a quest. A character may not be fully aware of his/her own quests, although the reader should be able to identify them.
Internal quest refers to a character’s inner needs or desires.
External quest usually refers to the tangible task the character must struggle to achieve.
CONFLICT – Conflict, in a story, is the struggle between two opposing forces that is the basis of the plot. Everycharacter must face, and try to overcome, conflicts in order to achieve quests.
Internal conflict describes a character’s struggle with him/herself, such as to make a decision.
External conflict occurs between a character and another character, nature, or society.
PLOT – Plot is the series or sequence of events in the story that build in tension as the main character tries to achieve his/her quest or conflict. The plot generally follows a five-stage pattern:
The exposition introduces characters, setting, and the conflict or quest.
During the rising action, the conflict or quest becomes obvious. The term refers to the rise in tension and suspense as characters struggle with complications. The first event of the rising action can be called the exciting force.
The crisis, or climax, of the story is a high point of interest and intensity. Usually near the end, the crisis occurs because of a decision the main character reaches, or because of a discovery or an event. It is a turning point that generally changes the main character or results in a solution to the conflict or quest.
Falling action describes the end of the story, when tension is gone but the results of the decision/action which caused the crisis are not all worked out. Some books “fall” only a little and then rise to a second, even larger, crisis.
Resolution, or dénouement, may blend with falling action as the conflict is completely resolved.
SYMBOL – A symbol is a tangible object or color that represents an intangible idea. Birds in flight might symbolize freedom; a strange storm might symbolize mystery and danger. A symbol might appear only once. Many works have symbols, but not all.
MOTIF – A motif is a repeated color, image or idea in a text. It can be intangible concept (i.e. love, betrayal, fear) or a tangible object (birds, food, the color red) in a story. Motifs are not necessarily symbolic, but they can be.
THEME – Themes are topics, rather than solutions or opinions. A theme can usually be expressed as a statement about one or more motifs. Because they are almost always stated indirectly, readers should consider the characters’ experiences and consider how these apply to all people. Readers may also find a subtle message related to the theme: the author’s insights about life or human nature.