Fiction Writing What you should know…

The Elements of Fiction Setting Character Conflict Message Point of View Plot Literary Devices

Setting Time Place Circumstance

What were the settings of? Down these Mean Streets? Malcolm X? The Kite Runner?

Setting creates Atmosphere Setting is closely related to the atmosphere or mood of the story “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.” “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe

The “People”* appearing in a literary work Characters The “People”* appearing in a literary work *can also be animals or things that act as people

Types of Characters Main Character/Protagonist The character through whose eyes and ears and thoughts we read the story Opposing Characters/Antagonists The character who opposes, or presents a conflict for, the main character (can be more than one) Does not have to be a person

Who are the main and opposing characters in? The Kite Runner? Down These Mean Streets?

Conflict The problem that must be solved to complete the story. There can be more than one conflict in a story, but usually only one MAIN conflict

Types of Conflict Man vs. Man Man vs. Society Man vs. Himself Man vs. Nature Man vs. Superbeing

Name a conflict from one of the stories…? Man vs. Man Man vs. Self Man vs. Society

Message The whole point of the story Usually a message or lesson that the writer wants to reader to come away with when done reading

What was the message in? Malcolm X? The Kite Runner?

Point of View Who is telling the story? 1st Person Story is told from point of view of one of the characters who uses the first person pronoun “I.” Omniscient 3rd Person The narrator telling the story knows all the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Limited Omniscient 3rd Person Told from the viewpoint of a character in the story- knows only that character’s thoughts and feelings

From what point of view are these stories told from? Malcolm X The Kite Runner

Plot The series of events and actions that take place in a story Story Map or Storyboard- an outline of the plot of a story that breaks it down into scenes and chapters

Plot Line Climax: The turning point. The most intense moment (either mentally or in action). Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crises in the story that lead to the climax. Falling Action: all of the action which follows the Climax. Exposition: The start of the story. The way things are before the action starts (Background introduced) Resolution: The conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads.

What was the climax of? The Kite Runner?

Literary Devices Allusion Irony Metaphor Hyperbole Symbolism Foreshadowing Flashback Irony Hyperbole Anthropomorphism Personification

How do you create …? An allusion? A symbol? Foreshadowing? Flashback?

LEARN THEM, KNOW THEM, USE THEM ! The Final Word If you had trouble answering the questions in this slide show, then you are going to have trouble writing these elements into your stories. LEARN THEM, KNOW THEM, USE THEM !