FictionNotes

Narrative
A
_________________________________________________
isasequenceofeventsthata
narratortellsinstoryform.
A
___________________________________________
isastorytellerofanykind,whetherthe
authorialvoiceinanovelorafriendtellingyouaboutlastnightsparty.
PointofView
The
______________________________________

istheperspectivethatanarrativetakestoward
theeventsitdescribes.
_________________________________narration
:Anarrativeinwhichthenarratortellsthe
storyfromhis/herownpointofviewandreferstohim/herselfasI.Thenarratormaybean
activeparticipantinthestoryorjustanobserver.
_________________________________________________narration
:Thenarratorremains
outsidethestoryanddescribesthecharactersinthestoryusingpropernamesandthe
thirdpersonpronounshe,she,it,andthey.
_________________________________________________narration:
Thenarrator
knowsalloftheactions,feelings,andmotivationsofallofthecharacters.
_________________________________________________narration
:
Thenarrator
knowstheactions,feelings,andmotivationsofonlyoneorahandfulofcharacters.
________________________________________:
Thenarratorconveysacharacters
innerthoughtswhilestayinginthethirdperson.GustaveFlaubertpioneeredthisstylein
MadameBovary,asinthispassage:Sometimesshethoughtthatthesewereafterall
thebestdaysofherlife,thehoneymoon,socalled.
_________________________________________________narration
:Astyleinwhichthe
narratorreportsneutrallyontheoutwardbehaviorofthecharactersbutoffersnointerpretation
oftheiractionsortheirinnerstates.ErnestHemingwaypioneeredthisstyle.
_________________________________________________narration:
Thenarratoris
revealedovertimetobeanuntrustworthysourceofinformation.
_________________________________________________narration:
Thenarratorconveys
asubjectsthoughts,impressions,andperceptionsexactlyastheyoccur,oftenindisjointed
fashionandwithoutthelogicandgrammaroftypicalspeechandwriting.

 Whenthepointofviewrepresentedisspecificallytheauthors,andnotafictionalnarrators,
thestoryis
________________________________________
andmaybe
___________________________________________.
Character
A
_________________________________
isaperson,animal,oranyotherthingwithapersonality
thatappearsinastory.
_________________________________________________
Themaincharacteraround
whomthestoryrevolves.Iftheprotagonistisadmirable,heorsheiscalledthe
_________________________________________________
or
_________________________________________________
ofthestory.Aprotagonistwhois
notadmirable,orwhochallengesournotionsofwhatshouldbeconsideredadmirable,is
calledan
_________________________________________________
or
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Theprimarycharacterorentity
thatactstofrustratethegoalsoftheprotagonist.Theantagonisttypicallyisacharacterbut
mayalsobeanonhumanforce.
_________________________________________________
:Acommoncharactertypethat
recursthroughoutliterature.Theycanalsobeseen
as
_________________________________________________
orsometimes,especiallyif
theyarenegativeinmanifestations,
_________________________________________________
Notableexamplesincludethe
wittyservant,theschemingvillain,thefemmefatale,thetrustysidekick,theoldmiser,andso
on.Astockcharacterthatholdsacentralplaceinaculturesfolkloreorconsciousnessmaybe
calledan
_________________________________________________
______________________
Acharacterwhoilluminatesthequalitiesofanothercharacterby
meansofcontrast.
_________________________________________________
Thesearecharactersthatare
morecomplexcharactersthatthereaderknowsSEVERALdetailsabout.Duetotheamountof
informationavailabletothereaderthereisnosinglewaytodescribethem
_________________________________________________
:Aflatcharacteriseasily
summarizedwithasingleideaorquality.TheyARENOTcomplexcharactersandarethus
easytounderstand.Sometimesthesecharacterscanbecomesobasicthattheyareactually
_________________________________________________
2

 _________________________________________________
Thesecharactersarecharacters
thatdonotchangethroughthecourseofthestory.Thesecharactersfindnoredemptionand
learnnolessonsevenafterexperienceswithinthestorythatcouldleadtogrowth.
_________________________________________________
Thesecharactersundergoes
somekindofchangebecauseoftheactionoftheplot.Thischangeisusuallylonglastingand
lifealtering.Itcansometimesbeturninganewleafandpermanent,butthestatusofdeathis
notconsideredadynamicchange.
Plot
A
_________________________________________________
isthearrangementoftheeventsina
story,includingthesequenceinwhichtheyaretold,therelativeemphasistheyaregiven,andthe
causalconnectionsbetweenevents.
Elementsofaplot
Aplotcanhaveacomplicatedstructure,butmostplotshavethesamebasicelements.
1. _________________________________________________
Thecentralstrugglethatmoves
theplotforward.Theconflictcanbetheprotagonistsstruggleagainstfate,nature,society,or
anotherperson.Incertaincircumstances,theconflictcanbebetweenopposingelements
withintheprotagonist.
2. _________________________________________________
Theearlypartofthenarrative,
whichbuildsmomentumanddevelopsthenarrativesmajorconflict.
3. _________________________________________________
Themomentofhighesttension,
atwhichtheconflictcomestoahead.Thewordclimaxcanrefereithertothesinglemoment
ofhighesttensionintheplotor,moregenerally,toanyepisodeofhightension.An
_________________________________________________
occurswhentheplotbuildsup
toanexpectedclimaxonlytoteasethereaderwithafrustratingnonevent.
4. _________________________________________________
Alsocalledthe
_________________________________________________
,
thisisthelatterpartofthe
narrative,duringwhichtheprotagonistrespondstotheeventsoftheclimaxandthevarious
plotelementsintroducedintherisingactionareresolved.
5. _________________________________________________
SometimescalledbyitsGreek
name,
peripeteia,
areversalisasuddenshiftthatsendstheprotagonistsfortunesfromgood
tobadorviceversa.
6. _________________________________________________
Anendingthatsatisfactorily
answersallthequestionsraisedoverthecourseoftheplot.
3

Typesofplot
Plotscantakeawidevarietyofforms,rangingfromorderlysequencesofclearlyrelated
eventstochaoticjumblesoflooselyconnectedevents.
__________________________________________
plot:
Eventsarearrangedinthe
sequenceinwhichtheyoccur.
____________________________________________
plot:
Eventsarenotarrangedinthe
sequenceinwhichtheyoccur.Forexample,HomersIliadisfullofflashbacksanddigressions
thatrelatewhathappenedbeforeandafterthecentralconflictofthepoem.
_________________________________________________
plot:
Alltheactionfocuses
towardasingleclimax.
_________________________________________________
plot:
Aseriesofloosely
connectedevents.
_________________________________________________
plot:
Moreofanantiplot,the
nonsequiturplotdefiestraditionallogicbypresentingeventswithoutanyclearsequenceand
characterswithoutanyclearmotivation.The
_________________________________________________
isparticularlyfamousforitsnon
sequiturs.
_________________________________________________
Asecondaryplotthatisofless
importancetotheoverallstorybutmayserveasapointofcontrastorcomparisontothemain
plot
.
Setting
_________________________________________________
isthelocationofanarrativeintimeand
space.Itmaybespecificallyhistoricalorgeographical.Thesuggestivemoodthatthesettingmay
createiscalledthe
_________________________________________________


FictionNotes
Narrative
A
narrative
isasequenceofeventsthatanarratortellsinstoryform.
A
narrator
isastorytellerofanykind,whethertheauthorialvoiceinanovelorafriendtellingyouaboutlastnightsparty.

PointofView
The
pointofview
istheperspectivethatanarrativetakestowardtheeventsitdescribes.

Firstpersonnarration
:Anarrativeinwhichthenarratortellsthestoryfromhis/herownpointofviewandrefersto
him/herselfasI.Thenarratormaybeanactiveparticipantinthestoryorjustanobserver.

Thirdpersonnarration
:Thenarratorremainsoutsidethestoryanddescribesthecharactersinthestoryusing
propernamesandthethirdpersonpronounshe,she,it,andthey.

Omniscientnarration:
Thenarratorknowsalloftheactions,feelings,andmotivationsofallofthe
characters.

Limitedomniscientnarration
:
Thenarratorknowstheactions,feelings,andmotivationsofonlyoneora
handfulofcharacters.

Freeindirectdiscourse:
Thenarratorconveysacharactersinnerthoughtswhilestayinginthethird
person.GustaveFlaubertpioneeredthisstyleinMadameBovary,asinthispassage:Sometimesshe
thoughtthatthesewereafterallthebestdaysofherlife,thehoneymoon,socalled.

Objectivenarration
:Astyleinwhichthenarratorreportsneutrallyontheoutwardbehaviorofthecharactersbut
offersnointerpretationoftheiractionsortheirinnerstates.ErnestHemingwaypioneeredthisstyle.

Unreliablenarration:
Thenarratorisrevealedovertimetobeanuntrustworthysourceofinformation.

Streamofconsciousnessnarration:
Thenarratorconveysasubjectsthoughts,impressions,andperceptions
exactlyastheyoccur,oftenindisjointedfashionandwithoutthelogicandgrammaroftypicalspeechandwriting.

Whenthepointofviewrepresentedisspecificallytheauthors,andnotafictionalnarrators,thestoryis

autobiographical
andmaybe
nonfictional
..

Character
A
character
isaperson,animal,oranyotherthingwithapersonalitythatappearsinastory.

Protagonist:
Themaincharacteraroundwhomthestoryrevolves.Iftheprotagonistisadmirable,heorsheiscalled
the
hero
or
heroine
ofthestory.Aprotagonistwhoisnotadmirable,orwhochallengesournotionsofwhatshould
beconsideredadmirable,iscalledan
antihero
or
antiheroine
.

Antagonist:
Theprimarycharacterorentitythatactstofrustratethegoalsoftheprotagonist.Theantagonist
typicallyisacharacterbutmayalsobeanonhumanforce.

Stockcharacter
:Acommoncharactertypethatrecursthroughoutliterature.Theycanalsobeseenas
tropes
or
sometimes,especiallyiftheyarenegativeinmanifestations,
stereotypes
.Notableexamplesincludethewitty
servant,theschemingvillain,thefemmefatale,thetrustysidekick,theoldmiser,andsoon.Astockcharacterthat
holdsacentralplaceinaculturesfolkloreorconsciousnessmaybecalledan
archetype.

Foil
:Acharacterwhoilluminatesthequalitiesofanothercharacterbymeansofcontrast.

Round
:ThesearecharactersthataremorecomplexcharactersthatthereaderknowsSEVERALdetailsabout.Due
totheamountofinformationavailabletothereaderthereisnosinglewaytodescribethem

Flat
:Aflatcharacteriseasilysummarizedwithasingleideaorquality.TheyARENOTcomplexcharactersandare
thuseasytounderstand.Sometimesthesecharacterscanbecomesobasicthattheyareactually
stock

characters
.

Static:
Thesecharactersarecharactersthatdonotchangethroughthecourseofthestory.Thesecharactersfind
noredemptionandlearnnolessonsevenafterexperienceswithinthestorythatcouldleadtogrowth.

Dynamic:
Thesecharactersundergoessomekindofchangebecauseoftheactionoftheplot.Thischangeis
usuallylonglastingandlifealtering.Itcansometimesbeturninganewleafandpermanent,butthestatusofdeath
isnotconsideredadynamicchange.

Plot
A
plot
isthearrangementoftheeventsinastory,includingthesequenceinwhichtheyaretold,therelativeemphasisthey
aregiven,andthecausalconnectionsbetweenevents.

Elementsofaplot
Aplotcanhaveacomplicatedstructure,butmostplotshavethesamebasicelements.
7.

Conflict:
Thecentralstrugglethatmovestheplotforward.Theconflictcanbetheprotagonistsstruggleagainst
fate,nature,society,oranotherperson.Incertaincircumstances,theconflictcanbebetweenopposingelements
withintheprotagonist.

8.

Risingaction:
Theearlypartofthenarrative,whichbuildsmomentumanddevelopsthenarrativesmajorconflict.

9.

Climax:
Themomentofhighesttension,atwhichtheconflictcomestoahead.Thewordclimaxcanrefereitherto
thesinglemomentofhighesttensionintheplotor,moregenerally,toanyepisodeofhightension.An
anticlimax
occurswhentheplotbuildsuptoanexpectedclimaxonlytoteasethereaderwithafrustratingnonevent.

10. Fallingaction:
Alsocalledthe
denouement,
thisisthelatterpartofthenarrative,duringwhichtheprotagonist
respondstotheeventsoftheclimaxandthevariousplotelementsintroducedintherisingactionareresolved.
11. Reversal:
SometimescalledbyitsGreekname,
peripeteia,
areversalisasuddenshiftthatsendstheprotagonists
fortunesfromgoodtobadorviceversa.
12. Resolution:
Anendingthatsatisfactorilyanswersallthequestionsraisedoverthecourseoftheplot.

Typesofplot
Plotscantakeawidevarietyofforms,rangingfromorderlysequencesofclearlyrelatedeventstochaoticjumblesof
looselyconnectedevents.

Chronologicalplot:
Eventsarearrangedinthesequenceinwhichtheyoccur.
Achronologicalplot:
Eventsarenotarrangedinthesequenceinwhichtheyoccur.Forexample,HomersIliadis
fullofflashbacksanddigressionsthatrelatewhathappenedbeforeandafterthecentralconflictofthepoem.
Climacticplot:
Alltheactionfocusestowardasingleclimax.
Episodicplot:
Aseriesoflooselyconnectedevents.
Nonsequiturplot:
Moreofanantiplot,thenonsequiturplotdefiestraditionallogicbypresentingeventswithout
anyclearsequenceandcharacterswithoutanyclearmotivation.The
theateroftheabsurd
isparticularlyfamous
foritsnonsequiturs.
Subplot:
Asecondaryplotthatisoflessimportancetotheoverallstorybutmayserveasapointofcontrastor
comparisontothemainplot
.

Setting

Setting
isthelocationofanarrativeintimeandspace.Itmaybespecificallyhistoricalorgeographical.Thesuggestive
moodthatthesettingmaycreateiscalledthe
atmosphere.