Elements of Fiction: The Narrative Structure and Composition of a Story

1. The Narrative Composing a True or Fictional Story

2. Anarrativeisastory.Itcanbeapersonal story,atruestoryaboutsomeoneelse,ora made-up(fictional)story. Storiesusuallyhaveabeginning-middle-end structure(plan)andaremadeupofwhat areknownasthe“elementsoffiction.” Beforeweexaminethestructureofastory, weneedtounderstanditselements:

3. TheSetting Thesettingisthe“when”(thetime period),the“where”(theplace),and the “conditions” (circumstance) inwhichastorytakesplace. Thesettingoftenchangesthroughouta story.Forexample:Inthestory“Little RedRidingHood,”thesettingchanges fromtheforesttotheinsideofthe grandmother’scottage.

4. Agooddescriptionofthesettingwillhelp thereadervisualizetheplaceorplaces wheretheeventsofthestoryoccur.The readerthenwillbeableto“enter”the storythroughhis/herimagination. “ThethreeBaudelaire children livedwith theirparentsin anenormousmansionattheheartof adirtyandbusycity, andoccasionallytheirparentsgavethempermissionto takearicketytrolley--theword“rickety,” you probably know,heremeans “unsteady” or“likely tocollapse”--alone totheseashore,wheretheywouldspend thedayasasort ofvacation, aslong as theywerehome for dinner.” From TheBadBeginningbyLemonySnicket

5. ThePointofView Thepointofview(POV)ofastoryrefers thepersonnarrating(telling)thestory. to A storycanbenarratedin FirstPerson(I), SecondPerson(You),or ThirdPerson(He,She,It,They). Let’sexamineafewexamples:

6. 1stPerson(I)POV: Thenarratoris one ofthecharacterstellinghis/her ownstoryor astoryhe/shehaswitnessed. Example: Mymotheraskedmeto full of fruitand bakedgoodies beautifulspring day,and I was deliver abasket to Grandma.Itwasa gladto havethe opportunitytowalkthrough theforestandvisit my dearold grandmother.

7. 2nd Person(You) POV: Thenarratoris someoneoutsidethestorytellingthe reader’sstory.This isnot acommonPOV. “Choose YourOwnAdventure” storiesfall under thiscategory. Example: Your motheraskedyoutodeliver abasket full of fruitand bakedgoodiesto Grandma.Itwasa beautifulspring day, and you wereglad to havethe opportunitytowalkthroughtheforestand visityour dearold grandmother.

8. 3rdPerson(He,She,It,They)POV: Thenarratoris someoneoutside thestory.The narrator maydescribe whateachcharacteristhinking/feeling(3rd PersonOmniscient),whatone orafewcharactersare thinking/feeling(3rd PersonLimited),or he/shemaychoose nottodescribe anyone’s thoughts/feelings(CameraView). Example:3rdPersonLimited(thenarratordescribes howRedfeels): Red’smotherasked herto deliver abasketfull of fruitand bakedgoodiestoGrandma.It wasabeautiful springday,and Red wasgladtohavetheopportunityto walk throughtheforestand visit herdear oldgrandmother.

9. TheCharacters Thecharactersofastoryarethepeople(or animals,etc.)thatparticipateinthestory.Most storiescontainmaincharactersandsecondary characters.Theprotagonististhemaincharacter ofastory(usuallythehero),andtheantagonistis thecharacter(ortheforce)thatopposesthe protagonist(usuallythevillain). Example:In“LittleRedRidingHood,”the protagonistisRedandtheantagonististhewolf.

10. Characterization Characterizationreferstothewayinwhichawriter developsacharacter.Awriterrevealswhata characterislikethrough: 1-thecharacter’sname,appearance,andbackground 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- the the the character’s character’s character’s choicesandactions words thoughts whatotherssayorthinkaboutthecharacter thewayothersacttowardthecharacter

11. TheConflict Theconflictisthemainsituationorproblemthat needstobefixedorsolvedina story.Conflicts canbe categorizedas: Person a againstPerson: (Interpersonal, also External) problembetweentwoor morecharacters Person againstHimself/Herself: (Internal) aninternal(emotionalormental)conflict

12. External Conflict PersonagainstNature achallengeofnaturesuchasa anearthquake storm or PersonagainstSociety aconflictbetween socialgroup acharacter anda PersonagainstDestiny aproblemthatappearstobeoutside ofthecharacter’scontrol

13. TheStyle Stylereferstothewayawriteruseslanguage (vocabulary,sentencestructure,figurative language,dialogueetc.)totellastory. Example: LemonySnicket’swriting styleincludesinserting definitions ofhigh-levelvocabularywordsin hisstories: “Thechildren hadmixedfeelingswhen,overa dull dinner ofboiled chicken,boiled potatoes,and blanched --the word“blanched”heremeans“boiled”--string beans,Mr. Poeannouncedthattheyweretoleavehishouseholdthe nextmorning.”FromTheBad Beginning byL. Snicket.

14. TheMood Themoodisthefeelingastorycreatesinthe reader.Alltheelementsofa storyputtogether helpcreatethemoodofastory,butthesetting isespeciallyimportant. Example:“The brickswerestainedwithsootandgrime. Therewereonlytwosmallwindows,whichwereclosed withtheshadesdrawn eventhoughit wasaniceday. Risingabovethewindowswasatallanddirtytowerthat tiltedslightly tothe left.The front door neededtobe repainted,and carvedin themiddleof itwasan imageof aneye.Theentirebuildingsaggedtoone side,like a crookedtooth.” fromTheBadBeginningbyL.Snicket

15. TheTheme Thethemeisthemaintopicandmessageofastory (anovelmayhavemorethanonetheme).Usuallythe themeisnotstateddirectly;ithastobeinferred.A storymayalsocontainamoral(alessonthatisbeing taught). In“LittleRedRidingHood,”themessageisamoral: “Donottruststrangers!” InTheBadBeginningbyL.Snicket,oneofthe themesisresiliencyandoneofthemessagesisthat childrencanbestrong,brave,andresourceful.

16. TheToneandVoice Thetoneofa storyisthewriter’sattitudetoward thesubjectmatter(whatthestoryisabout),the characters,andthetheme/message. Awriter’stonemaybeserious,humorous,sarcastic, preachy,etc.andwilldependontheaudience andtheauthor’spurposeforwriting. Awriter’sunique,personalvoiceresultsfromthe combinationofthewriter’sstyleandtone.

17. ThePlot Theplotisthesequenceofeventsinastory. It oftenhasthefollowingstructure or plan: Beginning 1-theexposition Middle 2- the risingaction 3- the climax End 4- the fallingaction 5- the resolution

18. ThePlotStructure (alsoknownasaplotmountain) Climax RisingAction FallingAction Exposition Resolution

19. TheExposition (TheBeginning) Theexposition usuallyincludes adescriptionofthe settingand anintroductiontothemaincharacters andthesituation/problem. In“Little Red Riding Hood” theexposition introduces thesetting:aforest,theprotagonist:Red,and the situation:Red will crosstheforestto delivera basket clueto dawdle withfoodtohergrandmother. There’salso a theproblem:her motherwarnshernot to andnot totalktostrangers.

20. TheRising Action (TheMiddle) Therising actioncontains asequenceof eventsin whichtheauthordevelopsthecharactersand reveals/complicatestheproblemthroughtheuseof dialogue,action, and variousotherwriting techniques. In“Little Red RidingHood,” themiddleincludes Redmeetingthewolf and fallingforhistrickery, thewolf gobbling-upRed’sgrandmother anddisguising himselfasher,and Red arriving atGrandma’s cottage andmakingcommentson thefake grandmother’s appearance(“Why Grandma,whatbig earsyou have!”).

21. AFewExamplesof Writing Techniques 1-dialogue/dialect-aconversationbetweencharacters 2-action-adescription of whatthecharactersaredoing 3-suspense-thetensioncreatedbythecomplicationof theproblem 4-foreshadowing-cluesaboutwhatwill happennext 5-flashback-adescriptionofsomethingthatalready happened(usuallygiven asbackgroundinformation) 6-sensorydetails-descriptions thatappealto thefive senses 7-therule ofthree -the psychologicalappealof “things thatcomein three’s”(example:the wolf’sbig ears,eyes, andteeth)

22. TheClimax (TheEndoftheMiddle) Theclimax istheturning pointofthestory:theevent thatgeneratesasolution(positiveornegative)tothe conflict/problem andwhichusually revealsthe author’s message.In moststories,it’salso thehigh point or mostexciting event. In“Little Red RidingHood,” theclimax isthe moment whenthewolf cries,“The bettertoeatyou with!”Red thenrealizestheterriblemistake shemade in trusting thewolf. Shescreamsfor helpand triesto escape,but thewolf catchesherand eatsher.

23. TheFallingAction (TheBeginning of theEnd) Thefallingactioniscomprisedof theeventsthat followtheclimaxandare partof thesolutionto the problem.Thinkofit asthepartof thestorywhere thewritertiesanyloose ends. In“Little Red RidingHood,” theproblemof thewolf issolved whena woodsman hearsRed’scryfor help andrescuesher and hergrandmother frominside thewolf’s stomach.

24. TheResolution (TheEnd) Theresolution is theending of astory. Usually the endingshowsthattheconflict/problemhasbeen solved,thatimportantlessonshavebeenlearned, andthattheprotagonisthaschanged/evolvedin someway.Whethera story’sendingishappyor notwill depend on themessageon lifeand human naturethatthewriterwantstocommunicate. Intheending of “LittleRed RidingHood,” thewolf getshiscomeuppanceand awiser Redhappily returnshome.

25. AFewCommonPlots: 1-The Hero’sJourney:The main character goesona quest(search)andreturnshomechanged andwiser. 2-ThePursuit:A motivatingincident causesone characterto chaseanother.Dangeris akeycomponent. 3-TheChoice:Themaincharactermakesagoodor bad decisionthataltershis life orthelivesof others. 4-TheRite of Passage:Themaincharacterundergoes adifficultexperiencethatcauseshim/hertomature. 5-TheDiscovery:Themaincharacterexperiencesa revelationthatchangeshis/herwayof thinking. Others:TheRevenge,TheRiddle, TheMetamorphosis