Unit 3: Reading and Writing Fiction: Inner Force External Force
Unit 3: Reading and Writing Fiction: Inner Force External Force
“A writer is not a day dreamer, but is a worker with paper and the joy of craft”
FICTION: It is a name for stories not entirely factual, but at least partially shaped, made up, imagined.
It creates illusion of the reality. It portrays imaginary people caught imaginary situations usually read
for pleasures and intended to expand or refine our life and quicken our senses. It comes from the
Latin word “fictio” means to invent or make up and has two forms: novel and short story.
SHORT STORY: This refers to a brief fictional narrative , a series of imaginary events that happen to
imaginary people, often involving one connected episode.
There are essential elements that make up fiction and are all interrelated to make up a unified story.
1. PLOT: This consists of related sequence of events, interrelated actions, and is the framework of
fiction.
2. CHARACTERS: These are the persons about whom the story is told.
1. Flat or Stock character - is the same sort of person at the end of the story as in the
beginning. They tend to be very static and stay the same throughout the story.
2. Round or Developing Character – undergoes a change in some aspect of character,
personality or outlook, be it better or for worse. The characters are very dynamic and often
changes – or become enlightened, grow or deteriorate.
3. POINT OF VEW – The angle of vision from where the story is told. Determined when the author
decides who is going to tell the story.
NARRATOR – The person who tells a story. The author may tell a story directly whereby he usually
remains an anonymous observer who seldom male any references to himself.
DIALOGUE – This generally refers to conversation between two or more characters in a story. Your
characters will reveal themselves not only through what they say but the way they say it.
4. THEME: This is what the story means. It is the underlying main idea of a literary work, a
philosophy or observation of life, a principle of truth which the author wishes to convey to the
authors.
Some common examples of universal themes to explore in writing fictional texts are about
love, survival, war, mystery, fate, friendship, good versus evil, justice, prejudice, loss, courage,
coming of age, freedom, loneliness, ambition and spirituality.
5. SETTING: It refers to the time, place and general environment in which a piece of fiction occurs.
The purpose of setting is to serve as a background or physical context for the action. Another
purpose of setting - it can be used to reveal character or shape events; it may also help create the
atmosphere/mood from which the story evolves.
a. Time and Place
b. Sociological, cultural, political, religious
c. Sensibilities that leads to specific modes
NOTES: