Types and Elements of Fiction

Week 3

At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

1. explain the characteristics, types and elements of fiction.

Teaching and Learning Activity

Discussion and sharing of insights.

What Is Fiction?

Fiction is make-believe, invented stories. They may be short stories, fables,

vignettes, plays, novellas, or novels. Although writers may base a character on people
they have met in real life, the characters and the experiences that the character faces in
the story are not real.

Types of Fiction by Length

A work of fiction under 7,500 words is generally considered a short story, although
some people place the maximum length of a short story much higher -- at 30,000 or even
40,000 words. If you've written over 60,000 words or so, you can call it a novel. The
publishable length for a novel varies depending on the genre, 80,000-90,000 words being
acceptable in many genres.

Literary Versus Commercial Fiction

The difference between literary and commercial fiction isn't easy to define. And
there's overlap between the two categories.

Literary fiction is meant to be a work of art and often uses language in artistic ways.
Commercial fiction is intended to entertain. Often, literary fiction is more focused on
character development and commercial fiction is more focused on plot. Of course, you
need both to write a good story! The difference is one of emphasis.

If it's literary fiction, the novel might focus on how the victim's family struggles with grief.
If it's commercial fiction, the focus might be on finding and stopping the killer -- before he
strikes again.

Types of Fiction by Genre

Genres are commercial categories of fiction, such as mysteries, horror, or romance.

Mysteries. Usually a novel (or story) is about someone trying to solve a crime, usually
murder. Most mystery novels create suspense around the question "Who did it" and
answer that question at the end. There is a puzzle element to mysteries, as the reader
tries to figure out the solution along with the main character.

Suspense/Thriller. While the focus of a mystery is usually on finding out who the criminal
is, suspense fiction and thrillers are often focused on characters trying to stop a criminal
or avoid becoming a victim. There is a sense of danger in these stories which gets
readers' adrenaline pumping.

Romance. It is one of the bestselling genres. The traditional romance plot is about two
people who are meant to be together but have a major obstacle in the way. Readers root
for the characters to overcome the obstacle and fall into each other's arms. Romance
novels generally have upbeat endings. For commercial reasons, most romance novels
are written from the viewpoint of a female character.

Horror. The point of most horror fiction is to scare the reader. It's a kind of dare where
readers choose to face their worst nightmares. Some horror fiction emphasizes blood and
guts and tries to create a feeling of disgust. Other horror stories are subtly creepy. Often,
there is a supernatural element such as monsters or ghosts.

Science Fiction and Fantasy. These are two types of what is known as speculative fiction,
which takes place in an alternative reality. In science fiction, the alternative reality is based
on known rules of science. Often, science fiction is set in the future or on another planet.
Fantasy writing imagines a world where magic exists. Fantasy novels often take place in
medieval times or involve fairy-tale elements.

Historical Fiction. It is set in a past time period (usually more than fifty years before it was
written). It's an opportunity for readers to experience time travel. Writing historical fiction
requires a lot of research in order to get the details right in your story: how people lived,
how they dressed, the objects they had in their homes, and so on. But the research is
part of the fun, a chance to learn all about another time.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION

1. Characters. They are the people, animals, or aliens in the story. Readers come to know
the characters through what they say, what they think, and how they act.

E. M. Forster, an English novelist, identified that characters are either flat or round.
Flat characters do not play important roles in the stories. They often have only one or two
traits with little description about them. A flat character may even be a stock character,
which is a stereotypical figure that is easily recognized by readers, for example, the mad
scientist or the evil stepmother.

On the other hand, the round characters play an important role, often the lead roles
in stories. They are complex, dimensional, and well-developed. The stories are about
them; therefore, pages of writing will be about them. They often change by going through
a life-changing experience as the story unfolds.
 When discussing stories with other readers and writers or when writing an analysis
of a story, fictional characters can be described as static or developing. Static means the
character stays the same throughout the story. They do not change. Developing, also
called dynamic, means the character changes. The change may impact the character’s
beliefs, attitudes, or actions. The change may be small or large. This change occurs
because the character experiences an epiphany, an insight about life.

If writers write about characters outside their own culture, they need to do research
so as not to misrepresent a particular culture. The same is also true of characters, who
have illnesses. The writer may need to research the illness and treatment for it in order
to be accurate about it.

2. Setting. It is where and when the story takes place. It includes the following:

• The immediate surroundings of the characters such as props in a scene: trees,

furniture, food, inside of a house or car, etc.
• The time of day such as morning, afternoon, or night.
• The weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow, or rain, etc.
• The time of year, particularly the seasons: fall, winter, summer, spring.
• The historical period such as what century or decade the story takes place.
• The geographical location including the city, state, country, and possibly even the
universe, if the writer is writing science fiction.

Setting can function as a main force that the characters encounter, such as a tornado
or flood, or a setting can play a minor role such as setting the mood. Often times, the
setting can reveal something about the main character as he/she functions in that place
and time period. Writers write about places they are familiar with. If they aren’t familiar
with the place, then they need to research it in order to be accurate about the place.

3. Plot. It is the order of events in the story. The plot usually follows a particular structure
called Freytag’s Pyramid. Gustav Freytag, a German playwright who lived during the
1800s, identified this structure. Freytag’s Pyramid has five parts: exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action, and denouement, also known as resolution. See Figure 3.1.

Freytag’s Pyramid by Gustav Freytag, a German playwright

 Exposition is an introduction to the characters, time, and the problem. At the point
where exposition moves into rising action a problem, sometimes called an inciting
incident, occurs for the main character to handle or solve. This creates the beginning of
the story.

Rising action includes the events that the main character encounters. Each event,
developed in separate scenes, makes the problem more complex.

Climax is the turning point in the story. Usually, it is a single event with the greatest
intensity and uncertainty. The main character must contend with the problem at this point.

Falling action includes the events that unfold after the climax. This usually creates
an emotional response from the reader.

Denouement or resolution provides closure to the story. It ties up loose ends in the
story.

4. Conflict. It is the struggle between two entities. In story writing the main character, also
known as the protagonist, encounters a conflict with the antagonist, which is an
adversary. The conflict may be one of six kinds:

Character vs. character

Character vs. nature or natural forces
Character vs. society or culture
Character vs. machine or technology
Character vs. God
Character vs himself or herself
5. Point of View. Stories are generally told in one of two points of views:

First-person point of view and Third-person point of view

First-person point of view means that one of the characters in the story will narrate–
give an account–of the story. The narrator may be the protagonist, the main character.
Writing in first-person point of view brings the readers closer to the story. They can read
it as if they are the character because personal pronouns like I, me, my, we, us, and our
are used.

Third-person point of view means that the narrator is not in the story. The third-
person narrator is not a character. Third-person point of view can be done two ways:

Third-person limited and Third-person omniscient

Third-person limited means that the narrator limits him/herself by being able to be
in one character’s thoughts. Whereas, third-person omniscient means the narrator has
unlimited ability to be in various character’s thoughts. Writing in third-person point of view
removes readers from the story because of the pronouns he, she, it, him, her, his, hers,
they, them, and theirs.

6. Theme. A theme is not the plot of the story. It is the underlying truth that is being
conveyed in the story. Themes can be universal, meaning they are understood by readers
no matter what culture or country the readers are in. Common themes include coming of
age, circle of life, prejudice, greed, good vs. evil, beating the odds, etc.

TASK
Look for samples of literary pieces under fiction and identify the type and brief summary.

REFERENCES:

https://www.creative-writing-now.com/types-of-fiction.html

https://quillbot.com/courses/introduction-to-creative-writing/chapter/lesson-3-elements-
of-a-
fiction/#:~:text=Characters%2C%20setting%2C%20plot%2C%20conflict,key%20eleme
nts%20for%20writing%20fiction.