Fiction writing

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This article is about writing fiction prose. For fiction as a concept, see fiction.

Fiction writing is any kind of writing that is not factual. Fictional writing most often
takes the form of a story meant to convey an author's point of view or simply to entertain.
The result of this may be a short story, novel, novella, screenplay, or drama, which are all
types (though not the only types) of fictional writing styles.

Contents
[hide]
1 Types of fiction prose
2 Elements of fiction
3 Character
4 Plot
5 Setting
6 Theme
7 Style
o 7.1 Components of style
o 7.2 Narrator
o 7.3 Point of View
o 7.4 Tone
o 7.5 Suspension of Disbelief
8 External links
9 See also

10 References

[edit] Types of fiction prose

Main article: Fiction#Categories of fiction

[edit] Elements of fiction

Just as a painter uses color and line to create a painting, an author uses the elements of
fiction to create a story:

The elements of fiction are: character, plot, setting, theme, and style. Of these five
elements, character is the who, plot is the what, setting is the where and when, and style is
the how of a story.
A character is any person, persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates from a
fictional work or performance.

A plot, or storyline, is the rendering and ordering of the events and actions of a story,
particularly towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect.

Setting is the time and location in which a story takes place.

Theme is the broad idea, message, or lesson of a story.

Style includes the multitude of choices fiction writers make, consciously or

subconsciously, as they create a story. They encompass the big-picture, strategic choices
such as point of view and narrator, but they also include the nitty-gritty, tactical choices
of grammar, punctuation, word usage, sentence and paragraph length and structure, tone,
the use of imagery, chapter selection, titles, and on and on. In the process of writing a
story, these choices meld to become the writer's voice, his or her own unique style.

[edit] Character
Characterization is one of the five elements of fiction, along with plot, setting, theme,
and writing style. A character is a participant in the story, and is usually a person, but
may be any persona, identity, or entity whose existence originates from a fictional work
or performance.

Characters may be of several types:

Point-of-view character: the character by whom the story is viewed. The point-
of-view character may or may not also be the main character in the story.
Protagonist: the main character of a story
Antagonist: the character who stands in opposition to the protagonist
Minor character: a character that interacts with the protagonist. They help the
story move along.
Foil character: a (minor) character who has traits in aversion to the main
character

[edit] Plot
plot, or storyline, is the rendering and ordering of the events and
actions of a story.

On a micro level, plot consists of action and reaction, also referred to as stimulus and
response. On a macro level, plot has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Plot is often
depicted as an arc with a zig-zag line to represent the rise and fall of action. *Freytag's
Pyramid is also another way to represent action in a novel.
The climax of the novel consists of a single action-packed sentence in which the conflict
(problem) of the novel is resolved. This sentence comes towards the end of the novel. The
main part of the action should come before the climax.

Plot also has a mid-level structure: scene and sequel. A scene is a unit of dramawhere
the action occurs. Then, after a transition of some sort, comes the sequelan emotional
reaction and regrouping, an aftermath.

[edit] Setting
Setting is the locale and time of a story. The setting is often a real place, but may be a
fictitious city or country within our own world; a different planet; or an alternate
universe, which may or may not have similarities with our own universe. Sometimes
setting is referred to as milieu, to include a context (such as society) beyond the
immediate surroundings of the story.

[edit] Theme
Theme is what the author is trying to tell the reader. For example, the belief in the
ultimate good in people, or that things are not always what they seem. The moral of the
story, if you will.

[edit] Style
Style includes the multitude of choices fiction writers make, consciously or not, in the
process of writing a story. It encompasses not only the big-picture, strategic choices such
as point of view and choice of narrator, but also tactical choices of grammar, punctuation,
word usage, sentence and paragraph length and structure, tone, the use of imagery,
chapter selection, titles, etc. In the process of creating a story, these choices meld to
become the writer's voice, his or her own unique style.

[edit] Components of style

For each piece of fiction, the author makes many choices, consciously or subconsciously,
which combine to form the writer's unique style. The components of style are numerous,
but include point of view, choice of narrator, fiction-writing mode, person and tense,
grammar, punctuation, word usage, sentence length and structure, paragraph length and
structure, tone, imagery, chapter usage, and title selection.

[edit] Narrator

The narrator is the teller of the story, the orator, doing the mouthwork, or its in-print
equivalent.
[edit] Point of View

Point of view is from whose consciousness the reader hears, sees, and feels the story.

[edit] Tone

Tone is the mood that the author establishes within the story.

[edit] Suspension of Disbelief

Suspension of disbelief is the reader's temporary acceptance of story elements as

believable, regardless of how implausible they may seem in real life.

[edit] External links

Helpful Development Website for Writing Fiction

Top Notch Writing Advice From Famous Masters

Hugo and Nebula Award Winning Author Ursula K. LeGuin's writing advice

Official Website for National Novel Writing Month

Look up fiction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

[edit] See also

Author
Creative writing
Fiction
Figure of speech
Foreshadowing
List of writers' conferences
Literary criticism
Literary festival
Literary fiction
Literary technique
Literature
Narratology
Show, don't tell
Writer
Writer's block
Writing style
[edit] References
1. ^ King, Stephen (2000). On Writing pp. 153, 154.. Scribner. ISBN 0-684-
85352-3.
2. ^ Abbott, Jillian (Sep., 2005). "How to keep tabs on your novels progress". The
Writer, p. 39.
3. ^ Frey, James N. (1987). How to Write a Damn Good Novel p. 164.. St. Martins
Press. ISBN 0-312-01044-3.
4. ^ Monteleone, Tom (2004). The Complete Idiots Guide to Writing a Novel p. 51..
Scribner. ISBN 1-59257-172-7.
5. ^ Leder, Meg, ed. (2002). The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing p. 324..
Writers Digest Books. ISBN 1-58297-160-9.
6. ^ Stanek, Lou Willett. (1994). So You Want to Write a Novel p. 15. Avon Books.
ISBN 0-380-77688-X.

[hide]v d eLiterary composition

General Fiction writing Writer Characterisation Exposition (literary technique)

topics Description Writer's block Literature

Literary
techniques, Literary technique Juxtaposition Contrast (literary) Trope (literature)
devices or Trope (linguistics)
motifs

Literary Writing process Mimesis Everything has already been said Plagiarism
methods Literary theft Cut-up technique Pastiche Assemblage (composition)

Style (fiction) Writing style Stylistics (linguistics) Writer's voice Voice

Features (grammar) Setting tone Grammatical mood Tone (literature) Register
(sociolinguistics) Rhetorical modes

Forms Novel Screenplay Short story Poem Essay Joke

Other Idiom Clich

Outside of
Composition studies Technical writing Articulation (sociology)
the arts
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