Elements of
Fiction
Prose I
Plot
the sequence of events that
compose a story
Plot (contd)
Conflict is a clash of actions, ideas, desires
or wills.
It can be:
 person vs. person.
 person vs. external force
 person vs. herself/himself
Plot (contd)
Artistic Unity
 very significant;
 nothing irrelevant exists;
 related to other part(s) of the story.
Plot (contd)
Plot Manipulation and Fabulation
 any unjustified or unexpected turns or
twists, false leads, and misleading
information;
 fabulation is the introduction of the
unrealistic or gothic elements in a realistic
setting.
Plot (contd)
Story Ending
 happy Ending
the stereotypical expectation is that the
protagonist can solve all the problems, defeat
the enemy, win the girl, and live happily forever.
 unhappy ending;
the protagonist fails to solve the problem, defeat
the villain, win the girl.
for the writers of serious fiction, the unhappy
endings are more likely to raise significant issues
concerning life and living.
Character (contd)
Character Types
 a Flat character
 a Round character (complex and many-sided)
 a Stock character (stereotyped character)
 a Static character (remain the same from the beginning to
the end of the story)
 a Dynamic (undergoes permanent change)
The change must be:
 1. within the possibilities of the character;
 2. sufficiently motivated; and
 3. allowed sufficient time for change.
Character (contd)
Protagonist and Antagonist
 the protagonist (the central character)
 the antagonists (forces against the
protagonist, whether persons, things,
conventions of society, or traits of their
own character)
Theme
 the
controlling idea or central insight.
 It can be
1. a revelation of human character;
2. may be stated briefly or at great length;
and
3. a theme is not the "moral" of the story.
Theme (contd)
 in
the form of a statement
 as a generalization about life; avoid
names of characters or specific situations
in the plot
 not too general, neither too specific
Theme (contd)
 the
central and unifying concept of the
story.
1. It must account for all the major
details of the story.
2. It must not be contradicted by any
detail of the story.
 no
one way of stating the theme of a
story.
 no familiar saying, aphorism, or cliché
Points Of View
 Omniscient
- a story told by the author,
using the third person
 Limited Omniscient - the author associates
with a major or minor character; this
character serves as the author's
spokesperson or mouthpiece.
Points Of View (contd)
 objective
1.
2.
3.
or dramatic
displays authorial objectivity.
sets the story in the present.
relies heavily on external action and
dialogue.
Symbol
A.
B.
C.
names
objects
actions
Symbol (contd)
1 signals its existence by emphasis,
repetition, or position.
2. is established and supported by the entire
context of the story.
3. has its meaning inside not outside a story.
4. must suggest a meaning different in kind
from its literal meaning.
5. has a cluster of meanings.
Irony



the discrepancy or incongruity
the difference between appearance and
reality
the difference between expectation and
fulfillment,
Irony (contd)
A.
B.
C.
Verbal irony - stated vs intended.
Dramatic irony - what a character says
vs what is true.
Irony of situation
 appearance vs reality,
 what is vs what would seem