Elements of fiction

Characters Characters have reasons for doing things in stories. Sometimes, a writer does not tell you directly why a character does this or that but will give you enough information to help you figure it out (infer). The more that you are told about the characters in a story, the more real they seem and the more interested you are in what happens to them.

Characters - Traits Just like real people, characters may act as they do for several reasons. In order to build a good character, a writer must consider the character’s traits and motivations.

Characters Traits are things about characters that make them unique, such as their likes and dislikes and whether they are mean or kind. Their traits are parts of their personalities.

Characters - Motivation Motivation are what make characters do things to get what they want. They may want power, money, knowledge, fame, revenge or love. A character’s motivation is the reward that he or she seeks.

Character – Other Factors The situation and the setting of a story also make the characters act the way they do.

setting Setting is where and when a story occurs. Like real people, the time and place in which characters live affects how they act and look.

Situation Situation is what is going on between characters at the beginning of a story. Usually, the situation quickly leads to a problem or conflict.

plot The word plot refers to the action that happens in a story. How and why things happen are important parts of the plot. The plot is based on the conflicts or problems that the characters face.

5 Parts to Plot There are five parts to a plot: The starting point is what happens to get the plot going. The rising action invites your interest as the story unfolds. The climax is the most exciting part of the story. The falling action is what happens after the problem is solved. The outcome is the ending and is quite often short.

Plot

Narration Stories can be narrated using the voice of a character in the story or using the voice of an outside narrator. This is called first-person or third-person narration, respectively.

First-Person Narrator First-person narrator – a personal, involved point of view Uses: I, me, we E.g.: “I just didn’t know who to talk to. My friends would have laughed at me. My family would have thought I was nuts. My teachers would have tried to talk me out of it.”

Third-Person Narrator Third-person narrator – a more detached, uninvolved point of view Uses: he, she, they, specific names E.g.: “Paw didn’t know who to talk to. She thought her friend would laugh at her. She was sure her family would think she was crazy. She was pretty certain that her teachers would try to talk her out of it.”

Use of different Narration Short stories, poems, novels, newspaper articles and magazine articles can be written in the first person or the third person, depending on the effect the writer is trying to achieve. Often, the tone of first-person narration can be more casual and give the sense that the main character is actually speaking to the reader. Autobiographies are written from a first-person point of view. The writer of an autobiography is telling you his or her life story. A biography is the life story of someone other than the writer and is narrated in the third person.