1. Literary devices & plot structure

2. CHARACTERS A person in a story, novel, or play
Can also be an animal or object if author uses personification
Progression of the plot is tied to the characters
Conflict and action in the story also tied to characters

3. CONFLICT Man vs Self – internal conflict within a character
Man vs Man – conflict between two or more characters in the story
Man vs Nature – conflict between character(s) and an element of nature
Ex: weather (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, etc.), water (river, ocean, etc.), jungle/forest, desert
Man vs Society – character(s) struggle against an element of society
Ex: law or lawmakers, society’s expectations

4. SETTING
Includes the historical moment in time and geographic location in which a story takes place
Helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story
Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour
Considered one of the fundamental components of fiction

5. PLOT STRUCTURE

6. 1. EXPOSITION
introduces the characters, especially the main character, also known as the protagonist
shows how the characters relate to one another, their goals and motivations, their moral character
protagonist learns their main goal and what is at stake

7. 2. INCITING INCIDENT
An event near the beginning of the story that initiates the protagonist on his or her journey
This event causes the rest of the story to happen
Represents the main conflict of the story

8. 3. RISING ACTION
Events stemming from the conflict introduced as the inciting incident
Involves the buildup of events until the climax
The protagonist understands his or her goal and begins to work toward it

9. 4. CLIMAX The turning point or highest point of the story
Protagonist makes the single big decision that defines not only the outcome of the story

10. 5. FALLING ACTION Consists of events that lead to the ending
Character's actions resolve the problem
The antagonist often has the upper hand at the beginning of this phase

11. 6. RESOLUTION
The protagonist and antagonist have solved their problems
Either the protagonist or antagonist wins the conflict
The conflict officially ends
May show what happens to the characters after the conflict ends and/or what happens to the characters in the future

12. PERSONIFICATION
Giving human qualities of thought, action or life to an animal, inanimate object or abstract concept.
“The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.”

13. IMAGERY
Representation in words of sense experiences; words which appeal to one or more of the senses; a visual image may be called a mental picture.
“The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;”

14. ALLUSION
A reference to a person, place, thing or event or to another literary work or passage.
“He's a real Einstein.”
“He thinks of himself as a modern-day Romeo.”

15. SIMILE A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”
“The snow was as thick as a blanket"

16. SUSPENSE
The intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for the outcome of certain events
Leaves the reader holding their breath and wanting more information
Without suspense, a reader would lose interest quickly in any story

17. HYPERBOLE Exaggeration used to achieve emphasis
“I could sleep for a year.”
“This book weighs a ton.”