| A | B |
|---|
| Fiction | is prose created from the imagination and usually narrative. |
| Prose | is writing that uses straightforward language and that differs from poetry in that it doesn’t have a rhythmic pattern. |
| Narrative writing | is that which tells a story. |
| Works of fiction usually contain the elements of | character, plot, setting, and theme. |
| A character | is a person (or sometimes an animal) who takes part in the action of a literary work. |
| A protagonist | is the main character in a story. |
| An antagonist | is a character who struggles against the main character. |
| A major character | is one who plays an important role in a literary work. |
| A minor character | is one who plays a lesser role. |
| A one-dimensional character, or flat character | reveals only one quality or character trait. |
| A three-dimensional character | seems to have all the complexities of an actual human being. |
| Characters come alive in fiction | through characterization. |
| Characterization | is the act of creating a character. |
| A writer creates characters in three ways #1 | by showing what characters say, do, or think; |
| A writer creates characters in three ways #2 | by showing what other characters say or think about them; |
| A writer creates characters in three ways #3 | by describing what physical features, dress, and personality the characters display. |
| The plot of a work of fiction is the series of events or situations related to a | central conflict, or struggle. |
| The conflict | can be internal or external. |
| The internal conflict | takes place within a character. |
| The external conflict | struggle between a character and an outside force, such as another character, society, or nature. |
| A plot | usually contains the introduction of a conflict, its development, and its eventual resolution. |
| A story may begin with exposition, | the introduction of the setting and characters. |
| The rising action, or complication | develops the conflict to a high point of intensity. |
| The climax | is the highest point of suspense in the story. |
| The falling action | is all the events that follow the climax. |
| The resolution | is the point at which the central conflict ends. |
| Plots are often illustrated using a pyramid; | however, many plots do not include all these elements, and in short stories, the climax often occurs very late in the plot. |
| The setting in a work of fiction (or any other literary work) | is the time and place in which it happens. |
| In fiction, the setting | is often revealed through the description of the landscape, buildings, rooms, scenery, weather, and season. |
| The setting | reveals important information about the time period, geographical location, cultural environment, and physical conditions in which the characters live. |
| A theme of a work of fiction (or any other literary work) | is a central idea of the work. |
| Theme | is different from subject. |
| A theme | is a broad statement about a topic, such as “animals can be our most loyal companions,” “friends are worth more than money,” or “tornadoes might destroy buildings but not communities.” Many stories share the same subject but have different themes because they make unique statements about that subject. |
| A story may have | more than one theme. |
| Describing theme | can be a useful means of clarifying your thinking about the story. |
| Other elements that influence and shape a work of fiction include | mood and point of view. |
| Mood, or atmosphere | is the feeling or emotion the writer creates in a literary work. |
| By working carefully with descriptive language, | the writer can evoke in the reader an emotional response such as fear, discomfort, longing, or anticipation. |
| Point of view | is the vantage point from which a story is told. |
| In stories told from first-person point of view, | the narrator takes part in the action of the story and includes himself or herself in the telling of the story by using words such as I and we. |
| In stories told from the third-person point of view, | the narrator is more of an observer, standing outside the action of the story and relating details to the reader using words such as he, she, it, and they. |
| The point of view from which a story is told | affects what the reader knows about the events and characters in the story and how the reader reacts to the events and characters. |
| If the point of view from which a story is told changes, | the story itself changes. |
| Short stories, novels, and novellas | are types of fiction. |
| A short story | is a brief work of fiction that contains a definite beginning, middle, and end. |
| Although it contains all the main elements of fiction__________it may not fully develop each element. | character, setting, plot, and theme |
| Often in the short story, | the true natures of characters are revealed by their actions and their encounters with other characters. |
| A novel | is a long work of fiction that usually has more complex elements than a short story. Its longer format allows the elements of fiction to be more fully developed. |
| Another popular literary form during the Middle Ages that contributed to the development of the novel is the romance, | a type of tale that features the adventures of such legendary figures as Alexander the Great and King Arthur. |
| The modern novel | deals with the reality of human experience, often in an imaginative or romantic way. |
