Elements of fiction

1.) Character – are the people who or animals that make things happen in fiction
a.) Flat character – a character drawn with only surface facts and details
b.) Rounded character – a fully developed character as opposed of a flat character

 Flat Characters (stock, static characters or stereotypes): they have no depth and no change;
we only see one side or aspect of them. Most supporting characters are portrayed in this way,
for example, a strict teacher, a helpful policeman, and an evil stepmother.
 Round Characters (dynamic character): they have more fully developed personalities. We
expect the protagonists and antagonists to be rounded individuals who express a range of
emotion and change throughout the narrative, usually toward greater maturity.

Types of Characters:
 Protagonist (hero): the central figure with whom we usually sympathize or identify
 Antagonist (villain): the figure who opposes the protagonist and creates the conflict
 Foil Character: the figure whose personality traits are the opposite of the main character’s. This
is a supporting character and usually made to shine the protagonist.

2.) Setting – presents the time place, weather and season. It helps create mood or the general feeling of
the story.
a.) time and place
b.) sociological, cultural, political, religious
c.) sensibilities that lead to specific modes

3.) Plot – the sequence of interrelated actions or events that make up a story
series of interconnected events in which every occurrence has a specific purpose. A plot is all
about establishing connections, suggesting causes, and showing relationships.
3.1 Linear plot
It consist of a series of events that have a clear beginning, middle and end. The story unfolds in a
chronological order, which means they are told in the order they happened.
3.2 Modular/Episodic
This is also a chronological structure, but it consists of a series of loosely related incidents, usually of
chapter length, tied together by a common theme and/or characters. Episodic plots work best when the
writer wishes to explore the personalities of the characters, the nature of their existence, and the flavor of

an era.
a.) Exposition – the start of the story or the introduction of the problem/conflict
Types of Conflict Example
Man vs. Man Mark and Billy are competing for the same lady.
Man vs. Nature The man is protecting his house and family from a
super typhoon.
Man vs. Himself Angelo did not study for the test so he wanted to
cheat.

b.) Rising action – the tension or uncertainty developing out of the conflict increases
c.) Climax – the point of highest emotional intensity
d.) Falling action – the action which follows the climax
e.) Resolution (or Denouement) – the solving of the problem
4.) Point of View – the eyes and mind through which the reader views the unfolding of events.
a.) First person – can make the story personal; it can build a strong response to a character, but the reader
can only tell what the character sees, hears, knows and believes
b.) Third person (limited) – focuses on one characters’ perspective
c.) Third person (omniscient) – most flexible outside narration. It gives a wider view of the story.

 nternal Narrator (First-person Narrator; the narrator uses "I" to refer to himself/herself): the
narrator is a character in the story, often, but not necessarily, the protagonist. This narrative
point of view allows for a very personal touch in the story telling.
 Omniscient Narrator (multiple points of view; the narrator is "all-knowing"): the narrator is not a
character in the story but knows everything about the story. The omniscient narrator can show
the thoughts and experiences of any character in the story. It permits the writer the broadest
scope.
  Limited Narrator (External Subjective Narrator; the 3rd person point of view): the narrator
is not a character in the story but looks at things only through the eyes of a single character.
This type of narrative permits the narrator to quickly build a close bond between the protagonist
and the reader, without being confined by the protagonist’s educational or language restrictions.

IRONY
Definition: There are three types of irony: verbal, situational and dramatic.
Verbal irony occurs when a speaker’s intention is the opposite of what he or she is saying. For example, a
character stepping out into a hurricane and saying, “What nice weather we’re having!”
Situational irony occurs when the actual result of a situation is totally different from what you’d expectthe
result to be. Sitcoms often use situational irony. For example, a family spends a lot of time and money
planning an elaborate surprise birthday party for their mother to show her how much they care. But it turns
out, her birthday is next month, and none of them knew the correct date. She ends up fuming that no one
cares enough to remember her birthday.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows a key piece of information that a character in a play,
movie or novel does not. This is the type of irony that makes us yell, “DON’T GO IN THERE!!” during a
scary movie. Dramatic irony is huge in Shakespeare’s tragedies, most famously in Othello and Romeo and
Juliet, both of which we’ll examine later.

Dramatic Irony in Romeo and Juliet

In the final act of this archetypal love story, Shakespeare employs dramatic irony to keep the audience on
the edge of their seats.

Friar Laurence sends a messenger to tell Romeo about Juliet’s plan to drug herself into deathlike coma.
We watch in horror as the messenger fails to deliver this vital piece of information. And though we know
that Juliet is not really dead, we see Romeo poison himself because he cannot live without her.

Verbal Irony in A Modest Proposal

Johnathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a classic example of verbal irony. He begins seemingly in earnest,
discussing the sad state of destitute children:
[…] whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful
members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a
preserver of the nation.
Seems reasonable enough. But things take a very ironic turn:

I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child
well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted,
baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
Is Swift sincerely proposing that we eat children? No, but he has indeed inverted our expectations and
written a wonderfully ironic essay.

Situational irony in The Gift of the Magi

 In this short story by O. Henry, a wife sells her hair to buy her husband a watch chain, and her husband
sells his watch to buy her combs for her hair. Both have made sacrifices in order to buy gifts for one
another, but in the end, the gifts are useless. The real gift is how much they are willing to give up to show
their love for one another.

Theme

A moral is a lesson that a piece of art consumer expects to derive from the story or experience that a

character in the work goes through. It is also a message that one expects from every writing, act, or any

other piece of art they consume.

Examples of Morals

A piece of art can have different lessons. There can also be a major one and scattered others within the

piece of work. It is upon the consumer, for example, if for academic purposes to get every lesson at the end

of the actions presented in the work. Some of the common lessons include:

 Pride comes before a fall

 Think twice before you leap
 Slow and steady is a sure win
 Be content with what you have
 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
 Be prepared
 Birds of a feather flock together
 Clothes do not make a man

Difference Between Theme and Moral | Difference

Between http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-theme-and-moral/#ixzz5uIfQ88LX

Dramatic Premise in fiction is a brief statement that has been revealed in a story.

An assertion or proposition which forms the basis for a work or theory.

You can write without a premise, but it is easier to write a story if you have
one. The premise can be described as the reason you are writing your story. It is
a point you want to prove through the power of storytelling.

The premise is a statement of what happens to characters as a result of the

conflict. The premise is the conclusion of a fictive argument.
The Premise Pattern

If you accept that most good fiction has a shape, that it makes meaning out of life,
you will like the idea of a premise. The premise can be explored through the
structure of your story. Unlike a premise in non-fiction, you don’t have to prove
it; you just have to show it.

Authors show meaning through organised, meaningful patterns. They do this by

finding the characters, the incidents, and the conflict that reveal the premise.
They are the building bricks. You need great characters, a suitable setting, and a
plausible conflict to deliver the conclusion of your premise.

Take my premise: What does not kill you makes you stranger.
A good writer will choose an ordinary character who goes through terrible
ordeals and still survives, becoming stranger and stranger and more eccentric as
the story reaches its ending.
Once you’ve established a premise, you can create a plot to prove it. Your
carefully crafted story is your argument for your premise.

A premise is a great idea when you get lost in a story. You can ask yourself: Is this
scene necessary to show the premise? Do I need this character for the premise? If
the answer is no, you may be losing the plot and overwriting.

Why not try to use one before you start writing a story? It may save you time and
energy.

Premise Examples

1. The Hunger Games: If a society demands children fight to the death for
entertainment, there will be a violent rebellion and a restructuring of that
society.
2. King Lear: If you misplace your trust with flatterers and deceivers, they
will fail you and destroy you.
3. Macbeth: There is a terrible cost to be paid for ruthless ambition.
4. Pride and Prejudice: You have to overcome your pride and your prejudices in
order to be happy.
Techniques and Literary Devices
1.) Tone and Mood
Tone is the attitude of the author toward the writing and the readers. It is achieved through word
choice sentence construction and the word order. A writer’s tone can be serious, satirical,
sarcastic, solemn and etc.

Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling that the readers get
from reading the work.
Examples: joyful, gloomy, frightening, mysterious, etc.

2.) Foreshadowing
It is a literary device through which the writer gives a hint of a coming event in the story. It creates
an atmosphere of suspense for the reader to want to know more.

3.) Symbolism and Motif

Symbolism is the act of representing things by using symbols or by attributing symbolic meanings
or significance to objects, events or relationships.

Example:
Sword – justice, dove – peace, rose – love

Motif is any recurring element ( word, phrase, action) that has symbolic significance in the story

Chen, C.E. (n.d.). Children’s Literature. Retrieved July 21, 2019 from
http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CLit/study_elements.htm