Elements of FictionElements of FictionElements of FictionElements of Fiction

Plot and Conflict• Plot: is what happens in a story.

– Plot contains:• Basic situation• Conflict• Series of Events• Climax• Resolution

Basic Situation• Who are the characters?

• What do they do?

• What is the problem?

Conflict• A struggle between opposing

characters or opposing forces.– Internal: takes place in the

character’s mind (struggles with shyness, accepting differences among friends)

– External: struggles against an outside force (another person, a group of people, or a force of nature)

Foreshadowing• To make us feel suspense

storytellers give us clues that hint at future events.

Climax• The story’s most emotional or

suspenseful moment.• This is the point where the conflict

is decided one way or another.

Resolution• The end of the story.• This is where the loose ends of the

plot are tied up.

• And they lived happily ever after…» Or did they?

Point of View• Omniscient: is the all-knowing

point of view (The people are…)• First-person: told from one

character’s perspective (I am feeling…)

• Third-person limited: the narrator is telling the story from one character’s perspective (This boy is…)

Characterization• Direct characterization: when a

writer tells you directly what the character is like.

• Most writers don’t do this anymore.

• Instead…

They Show you.• Indirect characterization: you

have to observe the character and come to your own conclusion about the kind of person you are meeting.

• For example: The man looked into your eyes as if he were looking straight into your soul.

The writer shows what a character is like by:

• Appearance (How do they look?)• Action (What are they doing?)• Speech (How do they talk?)• Thoughts and Feelings (What are they

thinking?)• Other characters’ reactions (Are other

people afraid? Do they like the person?)

Mood and Theme• Mood: the overall feeling of a story,

poem, or other work of literature.– Words to identify mood:

• Nostaligic• Peaceful• Exciting• Scary• Regretful• Angry• Joyful• Proud

Theme• Theme is the truth about life

revealed in a work of literature.– Tips for finding theme:

• Think about the title and what it might mean

• Look for key passages in which the writer seems to make important statements about life.