Tiffany Joy Supsup Creative Writing

ERHA 9/12/19

Elements of Fiction
Setting- That combination of place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general background for
the characters and plot of a literary work. The general setting of a work may differ from the specific setting of
an individual scene or event.

Conflict- The main problem or struggle in a story between the protagonist and an opposing force (antagonist).

Types of Conflict:

Internal Conflict- a conflict within (internal) the mind of a character.

External Conflict- a conflict between a character and outside force; may be caused by a difference in
ideas or personalities.
Man vs. Self- a conflict within the mind of a character.
Man vs. Man- a conflict that takes place between two characters.
Man vs. Nature- a conflict that takes place between man and a force of nature.
Man vs. Society- a conflict that happens between man and the laws within a community or society.
Man vs. Supernatural- a conflict between man and an unknown or scientifically unexplained force.
Man vs. Technology- a conflict that occurs between man and technology or a machine.

Plot- the major events that move the action in a narrative. It is the sequence of major events in a story, usually
in a cause-effect relation.

Types of Plot:

 Exposition- At the beginning of the story, characters, setting, and the main conflict are typically
introduced.
 Rising Action- The main character is in crisis and events leading up to facing the conflict begin to
unfold. The story becomes complicated.
 Climax- At the peak of the story, a major event occurs in which the main character faces a major enemy,
fear, challenge, or other source of conflict. The most action, drama, change, and excitement occurs here.
 Falling Action- The story begins to slow down and work towards its end, tying up loose ends.
 Denoument/Resolution- Also known as the denouement, the resolution is like a concluding paragraph
that resolves any remaining issues and ends the story.

Point of View- the vantage point from which a narrative is told. A narrative is typically told from a first-
person or third-person point of view. In a narrative told from a first-person perspective, the author tells the
story through a character who refers to himself or herself as "I." Third –person narratives come in two types:
omniscient and limited. An author taking an omniscient point of view assumes the vantage point of an all-
knowing narrator able not only to recount the action thoroughly and reliably but also to enter the mind of
any character in the work or any time in order to reveal his or her thoughts, feelings, and beliefs directly to
the reader. An author using the limited point of view recounts the story through the eyes of a single character
(or occasionally more than one, but not all or the narrator would be an omniscient narrator).
Types of Plot:

 First Person Peripheral- This is when the narrator is a supporting character in the story, not the main
character. It still uses the "I" narrator but since the narrator is not the protagonist, there are events and
scenes that will happen to the protagonist that the narrator will not have access to.
 Second person- point of view is generally only used in instructional writing. It is told from the
perspective of "you".
 Third person POV- is used when your narrator is not a character in the story. Third person uses the
"he/she/it" narrator and it is the most commonly used POV in writing.

Character- a figure in a literary work (personality, gender, age, etc). E. M. Forester makes a distinction
between flat and round characters. Flat characters are types or caricatures defined by a single idea of quality,
whereas round characters have the three-dimensional complexity of real people.

 Major or central- characters are vital to the development and resolution of the conflict. In other words,
the plot and resolution of conflict revolves around these characters.

 Minor characters- serve to complement the major characters and help move the plot events forward.

 Dynamic- A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a
central conflict or facing a major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend to be central rather than
peripheral characters, because resolving the conflict is the major role of central characters.

 Static- A static character is someone who does not change over time; his or her personality does not
transform or evolve.

 Round- A rounded character is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a
conflicted and contradictory person.

 Flat- A flat character is the opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind
of personality trait or characteristic.

 Stock- Stock characters are those types of characters who have become conventional or
stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly
recognizable to readers or audience members (e.g. the femme fatale, the cynical but moral private eye,
the mad scientist, the geeky boy with glasses, and the faithful sidekick). Stock characters are normally
one-dimensional flat characters, but sometimes stock personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded
characters.

 Protagonist- The protagonist is the central person in a story, and is often referred to as the story's main
character. He or she (or they) is faced with a conflict that must be resolved. The protagonist may not
always be admirable (e.g. an anti-hero); nevertheless s/he must command involvement on the part of the
reader, or better yet, empathy.

 Antagonist- The antagonist is the character (or situation) that represents the opposition against which the
protagonist must contend. In other words, the antagonist is an obstacle that the protagonist must
overcome.

 Anti-Hero- A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks conventional nobility of mind, and who
struggles for values not deemed universally admirable.
 Foil- A foil is any character (usually the antagonist or an important supporting character) whose personal
qualities contrast with another character (usually the protagonist). By providing this contrast, we get to
know more about the other character.

 Symbolic- A symbolic character is any major or minor character whose very existence represents some
major idea or aspect of society.