1. Unit One: Prose and Plot

2. Prose (language that isn’t poetry) is broken up into two categories: fiction and nonfiction
Fiction- fake, these stories are made up by the author and did not really happen
Nonfiction- not fake, these are about real events that happened and real people who lived
Note: Fiction stories may contain some nonfiction elements

3. What Are the Forms of Prose?

4. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Writers create prose fiction by using imagined characters and events in a variety of ways:
short story
novel
novella
folk tale

5. Fiction: Short Story A short story usually keeps it simple
by focusing on one major character, theme, and setting
and by working through a basic plot consisting of conflict, climax, and resolution.

6. Fiction: Novel A novel is more complex because it often features
more than one hundred pages
many characters
plots and subplots, or minor plots
several themes and conflicts

7. Fiction: Novella A novella is just a short novel,
usually longer than twenty pages but shorter than one hundred pages.

8. Fiction: Folk Tale A folk tale has no known author
has been passed down through history by word of mouth
often features fantastic elements that couldn’t happen in our world

9. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Each type of fiction has distinct characteristics.
short story
Usually 5–20 pages. A few characters work through a series of events and a conflict, leading to climax and resolution.
novel
Usually 100 pages or more. You meet lots of characters, see subplots within the main plot, and explore many themes and conflicts.
novella
A short novel—longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
folk tale
Often a mythical story with no known author, passed down by word of mouth.
[End of Section]

10. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Quick Check
Which form of fiction do you think this is?
short story
novel
novella
folk tale
There once lived a wise old man named Young-Chu, who made his home in the top of the tallest maple tree deep in the forest.
Sometimes Young-Chu would grant wishes, if it were for a good cause. People came from far and wide to seek his help, writing requests on bits of rice paper. Then, one of Young-Chu’s cranes would snap up the paper in its beak and fly to the top of the tree to present the wish to the wise man.

11. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Nonfiction provides facts about people, places, things, and events. Types of nonfiction include
essay
article
biography
autobiography

12. Nonfiction: Essay and Article
Essays and articles are short pieces of prose that discuss a limited topic.
Essays usually share a personal point of view.
Articles often relate facts and events.

13. Nonfiction: Biography
A biography tells the story of a person’s life
and is written by another person.

14. Nonfiction: Autobiography
In an autobiography, the writer tells the story of his or her own life.

15. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Nonfiction provides facts about people, places, things, and events. Types of nonfiction include
A short piece of prose that discusses a limited topic and often includes personal observations
essay
article
An objective description of real-life events
The story of a person’s life written by another person
biography
auto- biography
The story of a person’s life written by that person
[End of Section]

16. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Quick Check
What type of nonfiction is this? Why?
essay
article
biography
autobiography
This spring’s Bluebell Festival and Parade on May 8 attracted crowds from around the state to the city of Cottonwood.
With thousands of onlookers, the mayor sounded a cannon to signal the start of the parade. Colorful floats of all shapes and sizes snaked down Main Street, delighting young and old alike.
The parade concluded in the town square with a tribute to Ma Callahan, who founded the town 100 years ago.

17. Analyze Forms of Prose
Your Turn
Read the descriptions of written materials below. Decide if each description is an example of fiction or nonfiction.
Fiction or Nonfiction?
1. An article supporting a proposed law
2. A story about a princess and a frog falling in love
3. A story about an imaginary character set during the Civil War
[End of Section] 19

18. “Then, the alien sneaked aboard the space station.”
Plot
Plot is what happens in a story.
“Then, the alien sneaked aboard the space station.”
“What happened next?”
You and your friends probably talk about the plots of movies, books, and TV shows.

19. Plot: Plot Structure
Plot is the story’s skeleton, or structure. Most plots have four parts, which are like building blocks.
Resolution
Jen goes home happy.
Climax
The team makes it to finals—and wins!
Series of Events
Her team loses a game and then wins five games.
Basic Situation
Jen wants her soccer team to win the state championship.

20. Plot: Plot Structure
Conflict is a struggle between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.
The conflict is usually revealed during the first building block of the plot—the basic situation.

21. Plot: Plot Structure
In an external conflict, characters struggle against something or someone outside themselves.
Internal conflicts happen inside a character’s mind.

22. Plot: Plot Structure
Look at the pictures below. Which represent(s) an external conflict? Which represent(s) an internal conflict?
external
external
internal

23. Plot: Plot Structure
A plot’s second building block involves a series of events that makes it hard for the characters to solve their problems or work out their conflicts.
Sometimes these events are called complications.

24. Plot: Plot Structure
The plot’s third building block is the climax—the story’s most exciting or emotional moment.
The climax is the point at which the conflict is decided one way or another.

25. What happened to the characters after their conflict was resolved?
Plot: Plot Structure
The resolution is the last part of the story. The resolution ties up loose ends.
What happened to the characters after their conflict was resolved?
The firefighters couldn’t save the building, but . . .
they saved a life. 27

26. You can use a simple plot diagram to show what happens in a story.
Plot: Plot Structure
You can use a simple plot diagram to show what happens in a story.
Why is the basic situation at the bottom of the diagram?
It is the first thing you read—it sets the stage for the action.
You meet the main characters and discover what they want.

27. Plot: Plot Structure
A series of events leads to the story’s climax and ends with its resolution.
Why does the climax of the story appear at the top of the diagram?
The series of events leads up to it.
It is the “high point”—the most exciting part—of the story.

28. Plot: Suspense
Suspense, or anxious curiosity, is what keeps you reading to figure out what is going to happen next.
If a character solved his or her problem too quickly or easily, there would be no suspense in the story.

29. Plot: Suspense Ali and Coby are going for a hike in the forest.
What might make their story more interesting, exciting, or suspenseful? 31

30. Plot: Foreshadowing
Another way that writers create suspense is to foreshadow, or hint at, the story’s future events.
If someone throws a brick through a character’s window,
we have a hint that something dangerous may happen in the character’s future.

31. Plot: Foreshadowing
A writer uses foreshadowing to plant interesting clues for the reader.
These clues keep readers guessing about what might happen next.

32. Plot: Suspense and Foreshadowing
Quick Check
Joe and Theresa had planned all month for the whitewater rafting trip, and they were packing for the weekend when the call came. Grandma needed help. The spring rains had flooded her living room.
The car was already loaded and had a full tank of gas, so Joe and Theresa left immediately. Unfortunately, they had forgotten something important—to check the weather forecast and road conditions.
Soon the rain was pounding on the windshield. Theresa slowed the car just as she came to a low-water crossing. The water gushed across the bridge, blocking the road.
Is this an example of suspense, or is it an example of foreshadowing?
[End of Section]

33. Setting
Setting provides a background—a time and place in which the action takes place.
The setting could be a place in the real world or one that exists only in the writer’s imagination.

34. Setting Settings may include location weather time of day
time period (past, present, or future) 37

35. Setting
Quick Check
Yolanda looked across the sea of people as she made her way through the crowd.
The busy ski hill bustled with families eager to enjoy a day on the slopes. Colorful hats and snowboards flashed against the glistening snow.
Which words in the passage help you imagine where the scene takes place?
[End of Section]

36. Plot and Setting Your Turn Analyze Plot and Setting
1. What is the difference between an internal conflict and an external conflict?
2. Look at the excerpts from “Three Skeleton Key” in your book. How do the details in the passages build suspense?
3. Think about a movie, television show, or story you know well. Test your knowledge of plot by recording the main events of the story. Note instances in which the story’s plot is affected by the setting.

37. The End