WHAT IS FICTION

-Fiction refers to any type of literature that's created from the

imagination and typically has a narrative. It describes imaginary
events and people. Usually, this comes in the form of books and
stories.
-The word 'fiction' even comes from the Latin word 'fictus', which
means 'to form' - fiction is stories that are 'formed' and created by a
writer.
 Fiction is the opposite of non-fiction. It can be based on facts or
real events, but the majority of the content has been curated by
the writer using their own imagination.
 Fiction is typically read for pleasure, but it can also be analysed
to discover themes and meanings.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT FORMS OF FICTION WRITING?
Fiction can take many forms, such as:
 Novels: Novels are books that have one long story written in
them. They're works of prose fiction.
 Novellas: A novella is a standalone piece of fiction that's shorter
than a full-length novel but longer than a short story or novelette.
 Short stories: Short stories are much shorter than a novel and
usually deals with only a few characters.
 Flash fiction: Flash fiction is a type of fiction writing that's defined
by how short it is. Flash fiction is usually kept beneath a strict
word count to tell a story in the least words possible.
 Play scripts: A play or drama script is the story that has been
written for actors to perform, with the term 'play' relating to a
theatrical performance.
 Poems: Poem use specifically chosen language, rhythm, rhyme,
imagery and more to create an image or tell a narrative.
POPULAR TYPES OF FICTION
o Adventure stories: Adventure stories are tales that often include
something exciting and extraordinary, often a quest or a mission.
o Crime/ detective fiction: Detective and crime fiction is the classic
'whodunnit' story' and readers can help solve a crime or mystery
with vibrant characters.
o Thriller fiction: Thriller fiction is great for your adventurous and
imaginative readers.
o Fantasy fiction: Fantasy is a type of fiction that typically, taking
inspiration from myth and legend, is set in a fictional universe and
features supernatural characters and mythical creatures.
o Science fiction: Science fiction, often shorted to 'sci-fi', is a genre
of fiction that's usually set in space or in the future. It can include
spaceships, astronauts, machines, robots and aliens.
3 CHARACTERISTICS OF FICTION
o Character: A character is a person in a story; either a human, a
fantasy character, mythical character or even an animal. It can be
anything from a human to an inanimate object.
o Point of View: Point of view is the voice in which a story is told. It
is the narrative voice through which readers follow the story's
 plot, meet its characters, discover its setting, and enter into its
relationships, emotions, and conflicts.
o Plot: The plot is the main event(s) of a play, novel, film, or similar
work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated
sequence.
3 TYPES OF FICTION
o Literary Fiction: It tends to follow non-conventional plot
structures. This type of fiction usually uses heavy symbolism and
deeper meanings.  Reading literary fiction focuses on the
experiences, development and beliefs of the main character that
we follow through the story.
o Genre Fiction: It traditionally includes genres such as romance,
mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy, and children’s books. Unlike
literary fiction, the plot and storylines are the main focus of these
books and are mainly written for the purpose of entertainment.
o Mainstream Fiction: When a fiction novel or a genre novel
becomes massively popular beyond its intended and core
audience, attracting new readers and bestseller status, it is
considered an example of mainstream fiction.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FICTION AND LITERATURE
Fiction is a type of literature, but not all literature is fiction.
Literature is an umbrella term that encompasses many genres, forms
and styles of writing. Both fiction and non-fiction are types of
literature, so not all literature is fictional.
Some also define literature as more 'classic' in nature. General fiction
is written to be read for pleasure, not for deeper analysis or
comprehension. It has clear themes, interesting characters and an
exciting plot.
Literature, on the other hand, is writing that has themes and
symbolism that can only be discovered after careful analysis and
comprehension.
WHAT DOES FICTION DO
The main aim of fiction is to entertain and inspire all those who read
it. Fiction takes us into imaginary worlds and introduces us to
characters who we can see grow, change and develop. It gives us an
insight into lives we would never have had the chance to witness
otherwise.
FACTS ABOUT FICTION
o The hero of the story is called the protagonist.
o The villain of the story is called the antagonist.
o The fight between the protagonist and the antagonist is called the
conflict.
o THERE ARE FIVE BASIC TYPES OF CONFLICT: PERSON VS. SELF,
PERSON VS. PERSON, PERSON VS. SOCIETY, PERSON VS. NATURE
AND PERSON VS. SUPERNATURAL.
o A new type of conflict has been introduced in modern times:
person vs. Technology.
o The plot must have a beginning, middle and end.
o The climax is the most exciting part of the plot. Like a
rollercoaster, the plot builds up until you're at the top - the
climax.
o Fiction is all about what the protagonist wants - and who or what
is stopping them from getting it.
o Change and development is key to fiction. Characters should learn
and grow over the course of the plot. They might gain a new
perspective on things.
o One of the most common techniques for writing fiction is 'show
don't tell'. This means you show the reader what's happening,
rather than just telling them exactly what happens. This leaves
lots of room for inferences.
o The world's oldest known fictional story is the 'EPIC OF
GILGAMESH'. It's an adventure story, written in the style of a
poem.
o Modern examples of fiction include films, video games, anime,
manga, comic books, tv shows and cartoons.
SEVEN IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF FICTION
o 1. Character: A character is a person, animal, being, creature, or
thing that you write into your fiction writing story. E. M. Forster,
an English novelist, identified that characters are either flat or
round. 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. 
o 2. Plot: A plot in a story is simply the series of events and actions
that make up the narrative of a 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.
o 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.
o Rising action includes the events that the main character
encounters. Each event, developed in separate scenes, makes
the problem more complex.
o 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.
o Falling action includes the events that unfold after the climax.
This usually creates an emotional response from the reader.
o Denouement or resolution provides closure to the story. It ties
up loose ends in the story.
o 3. Dialogue: Dialogue is an easy way to establish your characters
and voice when writing fiction/ literature and is another word for
speech. 
o 4. Setting: Setting refers to the time and place that the story is set.
For short fiction stories, this could be a single setting or time
whilst longer stories can make use of several different settings.
5. Point of View: A point of view in fiction writing refers to the
perspective from which you choose to write. There are three main
 points of view that are commonly seen in writing. These are first-
person, second-person, and third-person.
 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:
o Third-person limited
o 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 the main idea or underlying message that
your writer explores in fiction writing, for example, most
traditional tales and fables have a moral theme or
message. Common themes include coming of age, circle of life,
prejudice, greed, good vs. evil, beating the odds, etc.
 7. Style: If you are going to do something, do it with style! Style in
literature will the thing that makes your creative writing fiction
work stand out from everybody else’s because, in essence, it’s
your 'voice'. 
BOOK NI MAM MAZO
Fiction- tells an untrue story in prose. It is an artistic creation that
stands on its own no matter how much it makes use of characters,
events and settings from life.
Forms of Fiction
Short Story- refers to a work that is from 2000 to 6000 words from
8-24 pages. It limits the author’s ability to develop character,
interrelationships between characters, setting and plot
Novella- halfway between a story and a novel. It is often thought of
as between 50 and 150 manuscript pages.
Novel- form is really more than just a story that has been expanded
beyond 250 pages- or it should be. The author can introduce many
more characters than in the story, and some of them can change and
develop over the course of time.
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
1. SETTING- (Richard ,1999)
 DISCOVERING YOUR PLACE-the place is character
 INTERIOR PLACE-interior setting has come to mean, basically,
an indoor place.
 EXTERIOR PLACE- the relationship between character and
exterior setting is more mysterious.
2. CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION (Kim Edwards, 1999)
 THE ICEBERG THEORY- the idea being that what’s unstated
must nonetheless exist clearly in the author’s mind for a
character to have sufficient depth.
  HISTORICAL INSPIRATION- sometimes authors take the idea
of using a true fact or a true line one step further, and use
an actual historical character as an inspiration for a fictional
one.
 FOLLOWING VOICE- the choice of voice is crucial to
establishing character. VOICE REVEALS PERSPECTIVE AND
PERSONALITY TRAITS.
 LETTING CHARACTERS SURPRISE- like their real-life counter
parts , fictional characters have habits, personality traits,
and frame work of beliefs, all of which determine their
reactions to situations.
3. POINT OF VIEW- (Valerie Miner, 1999)
 First Person- employs the ‘I’ voice and sometime the “we”
voice. This point of view implies intimacy and makes a
dramatic story even more immediate.
 Second Person- affords a different kind of intimacy, whether
we imagine “you” as listener, as the narrator’s alter ego, as a
particular third party or as an anonymous character tracing
his or her way through the story.
 Third Person- the two most common forms of contemporary
fiction are third-person limited and third-person omniscient.
In third-person limited, the story is told from the point of
view of a participant in the action, although that character is
not directly speaking. In third-person omniscient, the
omniscient speaker often knows more about the motives of
minor characters than can be expressed in third-person
limited.
 Shifting, Multiple-Person Points of View- can reach beyond
catharsis to illustrate the multiplicity of truth.
  Persona- It is the personality assumed by the narrator.
He/she is the speaker, the actual teller of the story)
4. PLOT, STRUCTURE AND NARRATIVE (John Barth,1999)
 Dramaturgy- means the management of plot and action
 Curve of Dramatic action- dramatic action is conventionally
described as rising to some sort of climactic peak or turning
point and then falling to some sort of resolution or
denouement.
5. Style (Karen Salyer McElmurray,1999 )
Style is how you say what you say. Style is the way words take on
an identity on the page. It is a kind of ownership agreement in
which any given writer lays claim
 Minimalism- characterized by flatness or narrative tone,
sparseness of story, a striking restraint in prose style.
 Maximalism- characterized by profusion, is about vastness-
of space, time, vision. Narratives may occur on more than
one level of time, in more than one place
VARIETIES OF PLOT PATTERNS
 Flashback- is a simple method of inserting an episode
that occurred previous to the main flow of the plot
 Multiple flashback- sometimes used when the author
wants to suggest a complicated set of clues leading to a
symbolic or a literal trial
 Flash-forward or prolepsis- gives the reader a sudden,
clear-eyed glimpse into the future.
 Frame story- traditionally refers to a tale told by a
character appearing in a larger work, such as the separate
narrations within the Canterbury Tales
  Figure eight- loops time around a central moment or
keeps returning to the same image or central event.
 Reverse order- marches the characters into the past.
 Out of sequence- works best when the information is
scrambled, or given out of sequence.
 Chronological order- a narrative device used in our oldest
stories.
CHARACTERIZATION- illusion based on the elements
 Consistency- refers to patterns of behavior, outlook, dress
and the like. Consistency of characters is one of the basic
assumptions we make about people in real life
 Complexity- develops more than one aspect of a character.
Complexity, then involves adding at least one other aspect
to the character’s original pattern.
 Individuality- is simply a function of complexity. A many-
sided character who remains credible is apt to seem
individual or unique.
 TECHNIQUES OF DEVELOPING CHARACTERIZATION
 Direct analysis of character, The use of dialogue and
thoughts, Blending the various techniques, The use of
significant action, Physical descriptions
TYPES/FORMS OF FICTION
1. TRADITIONAL FICTION- stories that are passed down from person
to person. These stories are also called folklore and include: Fairy
tales, fables, myths, novels, short stories and legends.
 FABLE- a literary genre, that features animals, legendary
creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that
illustrates or lead to a particular moral lesson
 FAIRY TALE- wondertale, magic tale, fairy story is a genre that
takes the form of a short story. Such stories typically feature
mythical entities such as dwarfs, dragons, elves etc.
 NOVEL- a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written
in prose and published as a book. Derives from the Italian novella
for “new”, news or “short story of something new”
 MYTHS- a traditional story that is rooted in folk beliefs or
religions. They are usually concerned with the early history of a
people or explains a natural or social phenomenon using
supernatural events or beings. Involves fantastical characters such
as deities and demigods.
 LEGEND- a traditional narrative that is popularly perceived to be
historical fact, but not authenticated. Also woven around
historical figures who are considered as heroes but their heroic
deeds are often exaggerated
2. SCIENCE FICTION- a genre of speculative fiction that contains
imagined elements that don’t exist in the real world. Typically
deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced
science and technology, time travel etc
3. HISTORICAL FICTION- accounts of history. These stories contain
either factual information or people who actually lived in the past.
Setting located in the past.
4. REALISTIC FICTION- a story written about events that did not
actually happen but could have happened, the people, the events
and places may be real.
CHARACTERISTICS OF REALISTIC FICTION
 Setting is an accurate portrayal of the world as we know it
 It contains believable stories as the writer uses everyday
occurrences or extreme realism
 Everyday language is present
  The plot contains conflict or tension as well as resolution
 The problems are realistic
NON FICTION- is any writing that is based on facts and is not based on
purely imagination
Nonfiction is real, true, informative, based on facts, things that
happened
An author who writes nonfiction intends to inform you, persuade or
instruct you by stimulating your intellect
TWO FAMILIES OF NONFICTION ARE THE
1. PERSONAL OR PRIMARY SOURCES
 Diaries
 Journals
 Memoirs
 Essays
 Letters/emails
 Interviews
 Autobiographies
 Editorial;
 Podcasts
 Blogs
 Social network posts
2. REFERENCES OR INFORMATIONAL TEXT
 Textbooks
 User manuals
 Encyclopedias
 Dictionaries
 Research papers
 Informational books
  Newspaper
 Magazine articles
 Biographies/histories
 Almanacs/atlases
 Documentaries
 Websites
FORMS OF NONFICTION
 Autobiography- story of a person’s life written by that person
usually book length and includes journals, diaries, letters and
memoirs
 Biography- story of a person’s life told by someone else using
third person point of view and the writer is called the biographer.
 Essay- short piece written on one subject, usually found in
newspapers and magazines and purposes are; 1. To share
opinions 2. To entertain or persuade 3. To describe
 Informational Article- provides facts about a subject, also
includes newspaper, magazines article, feature stories, textbooks,
pamphlets, history books, gardening books and how to books
 Interview- conversation in which one person asks questions of
another for the purpose of obtaining information
NONFICTION BOOKS CONTENT
 Table of contents
 Glossary
 Index
 Diagrams
 Facts
 Real photographs
IMPORTANCE OF NONFICTION-
1. Nonfiction unfolds the reality you get to know real people and
their lives
2. Gives knowledge about a subject which helps you learn new
things
3. It provides you with facts
4. Helps in making readers practical
5. It makes one smarter to understand the real-life concept
6. Helps in expanding the thought process and allows you to form
your own arguments.
7. It helps in improving the ability to perceive the situations and
contradict ideas with your own intellect