1. Elements of Fiction
Notes

2. CHARACTER A person or creature in a story
Ex: Cinderella…Big Bad wolf…Batman

3. Characters Protagonist - the main character of the story
Antagonist - the character that opposes or blocks the protagonist

4. Round characters - complex and multidimensional, like real people
Types of Characters
Round characters - complex and multidimensional, like real people
Flat characters - one dimensional and superficial; can be described in a single sentence; minor characters
Dynamic characters - make an important change during the course of the story

5. Types of Characters (Continued)
Static characters - do not change much or at all during a story
Stock characters are predictable stereotypes of people.
Motivation is the underlying force(s) that causes a character to act a certain way.

6. series of related incidents that make up a story
PLOT
series of related incidents that make up a story
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Ending:
Resolution
Beginning: Exposition

7. SETTING Time and Place where the story happens
Ex: 1945…England….Middle Ages...haunted mansion…winter…afternoon

8. the real meaning of the story/ the story beneath the surface
THEME
the real meaning of the story/ the story beneath the surface
Dig deep….what’s the underlying message?

9. POINT of VIEW who is telling the story/ whose perspective
If these two broke up, would they tell it to their friends the exact same way?

10. Different Points of View
1st Person - the narrator is a person in the story/ the narrator reveals his/her own experiences and thoughts, but can’t tell any other character’s private thoughts
3rd Person Limited - the narrator is outside the story, but tells the story from only one character’s vantage point
3rd Person Omniscient - the narrator knows everything that’s going on in the story

11. the problem that is present in the story
CONFLICT
the problem that is present in the story

12. Conflict can be….
Internal Conflict: conflict that happens within the character
External Conflict: conflict that happens between one or more characters or between a character and some other element in the story

13. Types of Conflict
Person vs. Person: A struggle between two or more people (verbal or physical)
Ex: hitting, any type of competition, yelling, etc.

14. Types of Conflict
Person vs. Nature: A struggle between man and some part of nature
Ex: Hurricane, Tornado, Rain, etc.

15. Types of Conflict Person vs. Machine:
A struggle between man and some sort of machine or device
Ex: car, pencil sharpener, hairdryer, computer etc.

16. Types of Conflict
Person vs. Environment: A struggle between man and his surroundings or setting
Ex: being cold in a classroom, being locked out of your house, etc.
“TOO LOUD!”

17. Types of Conflict
Person vs. Society: A struggle between man and society’s view of an issue
Ex: people expressing their views against abortion, racism, war, etc.

18. Types of Conflict
Person vs. Supernatural: A struggle between man and some supernatural force
Ex: God, a ghost, the devil/demons, etc.

19. Types of Conflict Person vs. Himself: A struggle within one’s own self
Ex: deciding what to do in a certain situation, dealing with guilt, etc.
Should I cheat on my girlfriend?

20. TONE
the attitude a writer takes toward the reader, subject, or a character (shown through a writer’s choice of words or details)(Ex: sarcastic…angry…sad… lonely)
“The spoiled little princess ran away with tears falling out of her eyes.” OR….
“The woman turned and walked away hiding her teary eyes to uphold her dignity.”

21. FORESHADOWING
the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot
(Ex: a storm comes on the night before the character is to die, [in a movie] the suspenseful music starts to play)

22. FLASHBACK
when the present action of a story is interrupted to look back to an earlier time to tell what happened
All because when I was a little girl….

23. ALLUSION
a reference to another work of art, person, place, or thing (outside the text)
(Ex: She is the Mother Teresa of our family because of her kindness and caring attitude.)

24. IRONY
the difference between what you expect to happen and what actually occurs

25. Situational Irony
When one expects one thing to happens, but the opposite occurs
(Ex: if a fireman’s house caught on fire)

26. Verbal Irony
When someone says something, but they mean the opposite (Sarcasm)
(Ex: the teacher tells her wildest class that they are her little “angels”)

27. Dramatic Irony
When the reader knows what is going to happen, but the character does not
Ex: When the audience knows that the killer is behind the door that the woman is about to open, but the woman does not.
Killer’s in the closet!!!!! (Prom Night)