The Landscape of Philippine Fiction

Fiction- is a story that is entirely made up and is not true. Fiction may
resemble reality, but it is purely circumstantial in philippine literature,
there are many stories that have shaped the way filipinos read and
view their surrounding.

Elements of Fiction

Character
The character of the story is the one you relate with converse with,
or listen to the thoughts of.
Sometimes, CHARACTERS also serve as symbols of a story. It may
symbolize a community or an event in history. Two CHARATERS
interacting in a story may symbolize the conflict or union
betweentwo different societies.
Symbols The fiction writer can use a object, action, or
character in the story to suggest or mean
something other than its dictionary or literal
meaning.

Francisco Sionil Jose - is a fictionist, essayist. and noveling. He is

currently considered one of the most widely read Filipino authors,
having been translate into many languages worldwide. His usual
themes are social struggle and strife in philippines society.

- Part of fliction, especially in short stories is the challenge to the main

characters: what do they want, what do they do to get it, and what is
the intention of the character? Short stories also express a lot of irony
in life situations. There are three kinds of irony that you will encounter
in short stories.
Three kinds of Irony
1. verbal irony- when what is said by the character is not what he or
she originally meant.
2. situational irony- when the actual outcome of a situation(say the
conclusion) is different from the expected
outcome. This is also known as the twists and
turn in a story.
3. dramatic irony- which is when the readers know more than the
characters in the story.

Merlinda Bobis - is a dancer, visual artist, and writer. She was born in
Legaspi City, Albay. She writes in English and Filipino (Tagalog and
Bikolano). She tackles themes of diaspora, immigrant cultures, and
 magic realism in her fiction. She was won numerous awards for her
literary works.

the world created by the writer

This world, as imagined by the writer, may be fictional or real
depending on the choice of setting.
In fiction, more often than not, these world and those in them
have meanings or symbolisms. For examples a place may not
just be a place-it was chosen by the writer because it fits
perfectly the situationthe characters are going or will be going
through.
If the whole story is a symbolism for something, then the story
maybe an allegory.
Allegory- The writer creates a story in which the characters
and events form a system of symbolic
meaning.

The Plot Structure of Fiction

Aristotle once declared that for a story to be considered a story, it must have
a beginning, a middle and an end. Plato agreed to this, and adhered to the
idea of an organic unity in fiction-the interdependent parts of a story are all
needed to create a whole. If one part is lost, the story cannot stand on its
own.

In the 19th century, a German novelist by the name of Gustav Freytag

realized that plots of stories and even novels have common patterns which
can summarized in a diagram.

Freytag Pyramid

Climax

Rising Falling
Action Action

Exposition Denouement

Exposition- is the beginning of the story, where in the writer sets the scene
by introducing the characters, describing the setting, and
sometimes will give a brief background of the story.

Before the next part of the Freytag pyramid, that something happens to
begin the action. This called the inciting incident- small events and tell
tales sign that tell you that the conflict is about to begin. It is also sometimes
known as the complication of the story

Rising Action- is when the complication begins to show itself on the

characters, setting, and events in the story. This is when
the story starts to become more exciting.

Climax - is the event with the greatest tension in the story.

Falling Action- is the result of the climax, and it is the part whwn things
start falling into place for the characters.

Denouement- is a French term that means the ending. This is where the
story reaches its final conclusion and the writer starts to get
ready to tell the ending by way of explain finally, flashback, a
peace treaty, or anything to make the story complete.

Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin (more popularly known as Nick

Joaquin)
was a Filipino fictionist, historian, and journalist who has written
some of the best short stories and novels in English. He
considered to be one of the most important Filipino writers in
English up until now, and was awarded the title National Artist for
Literature in 1976.

Features of Fiction
Realistic Fiction- although untrue, could actually happen. Some
events, the people, and the places may even be real. It can possible
that in the future imagined events could physically happen.

Non-Realistic Fiction- the storys events could not happen in real

life, which involve an alternate form of mankind other than that
recorded, or need impossible technology.

Types Of Fiction
Commercial Fiction
It attracts a broad audience and may fall into any subgenre like
mystery, romance, legal thriller, western, science fiction, and so
on.

Literary Fiction- tends to appeal to a smaller, more intellectually

adventurous audience.
 Genres of Fiction
Mystery- is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience.
It focus on a crime, usually murder.
Romance- is a huge category aimed at diverting and entertaining
women. In a romance novels, you have elements
of fantasy, love, naivete, extravagnance,
adventure, and always the heroic lover overcoming
impossible odds to be with his true love.
Womens Fiction- a focus in relationship, one or more strong
female protagonists, women triumphing
over unbearable circumstances, and the
experiences of women unified in some way.
Suspense/thriller- are tense, exciting, often sensational works
with ingenious plotting, swift action, and
continuous suspense.

Horror- filled with gut-wrenching fear, this popular genre keeps

readers turning the blood- filled pages.
-Includes fears of supernatural forces, alien visitations,
madness, death, dismemberment, and other
terrifying notions.
Young Adult- this genre includes any type of novel with a
protagonist in the 12 to 16 age range that speaks to
the concerns of teenagers.
Fantasy - It is a genre of fiction that uses magic or other
supernatural elements as main plot element, theme,
or setting.
Inspirational Fiction - Is a fictional works with faith-based
themes. It may be targeted at a
spesific demographic, such as Christians.