Elements of Fiction

1. plot: the sequence of events in a story; what happens

2. conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces
a. person vs. self
b. person vs. person
c. person vs. society
d. person vs. environment
3. rising action: all of the action in the story leading up to the climax
4. falling action: all of the action in the story from the climax to the resolution
5. climax: the point of highest tension in a story; a turning point; the moment when things
could go either way
6. resolution: the ending of a story; how the conflict is solved
7. setting: where and when a story takes place
8. theme: the big idea of a work of fiction; the authors message
9. character: a person, creature, or object in a literary work
a. protagonist - central character that the reader identifies with
b. antagonist - opposes the central character
10. characterization: how the writer reveals the central character's
personality
a. by describing the character
b. by showing what the character does
c. by showing what the character thinks and says
d. by showing how others react to the character
11. point of view: the position form which a story is told
12. first-person point of view: the I point of view
13. third-person point of view: the he/she point of view
a. omniscient: the author knows EVERYTHING, and gets into
multiple characters heads
b. limited: the author limits him/herself to ONE character's perspective
14. foreshadowing: when clues are given about what is to come later in the story
15. flashback: when the sequence of events in a story is interrupted to show
something that happened earlier
16. tone: the author's attitude toward a subject, such as serious, humorous, sarcastic,
angry, etc. The author's word choice and details can reveal the tone.
17. mood: the climate or feeling in a literary work. The author might use
setting, details, description, and images to create the mood.
18. symbol: a person, place, or object in a literary work which has a meaning in itself but also
stands for something else. For instance, a clothesline strung between two neighboring houses
is a clothesline where the characters hang clothes, but it also might symbolize the
connection between the neighbors.