fiction | literature Fiction is “created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story

or situation.” This means that it didnt actually

happen (not real) but it could have been something that actually could happen.

ex. [George found an abandoned, injured puppy in the empty highway. He knew that if he left her there, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life, so he drove her to
the nearest vet. After the young pup was treated, George decided he would adopt her and named her Cherry.]

(I literally just thought this up right now so it's not that good)

This example is something I made up but it could of happened to someone else in reality.

Characters and Characterization

Character is an important element of fiction. Without a central character, there is no story. The goal of the fiction writer is to create characters that are likeable and memorable.
Charles Dickson’s is well-known for his memorable characters. He created David Copperfield, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Oliver Twist. Most memorable characters are heroes.
Sometimes, though, the writer makes the anti-hero the central character of the story.
But a good story needs more than memorable characters. A good story includes an inciting incident that impacts the main character. It includes a main character who has a goal or
desire. It includes a main character who is confronted with some type of conflict. This conflict might exist within the mind of the character or be external. Often, the antagonist is the
opposing force in the story. A good story includes a main character who is faced with challenges and obstacles.
A successful fiction writer knows how to develop characters by using description, dialogue, action, and more.
This article discusses the following aspects of character:

 Types of characters
 Characterization
 The character profile
 Dialogue

Types of Characters
There are several ways in which the fiction writer and reader of fiction can define characters in a story.
Protagonist and Antagonist. A story needs a central character, or hero, or protagonist. Often this main character must oppose a villain or antagonist. Both are major characters in
the story. The fiction writer must spend a great deal of time developing these types of characters by using the techniques of characters description, action by the character, and
dialogue.
Major and Minor Characters. Stories include major characters, such as the protagonist and antagonist. Stories often include minor characters. These are characters who the fiction
writer defines by a single idea or quality. These types of characters are necessary for the story, but they are not important. These are secondary characters to the story.
Flat and Round Characters. A character can also be identified in terms of flat or round characters. A flat character is a minor character in the story. This type of character doesn’t
change as the story progresses.
Round characters, on the other hand, must deal with conflict in the story and are change by it. The writer develops these types of characters by using character descriptions and
dialogue. Round characters are all the major characters of the story, including the hero and villain.
Static and Dynamic Characters. Another way of defining a character is in terms of “static character” or “dynamic character.” A static character is a minor character in the story and
plays a supporting role to the main character. Static characters don’t change as the story progresses. The fiction writer spends little time developing static characters.
In contrast, a dynamic character is a round character. This type of character grows and develops as the story advances. The fiction writer spends a great deal of time developing
these types of characters. They are believable and can be memorable.

Characterization
What is characterization? It is the means by which the fiction writer presents and reveals a character in the story to the reader. Although the techniques of characterization are
complex, writers typically reveal characters through the following methods:

 Action. How the character acts or behaves throughout the story.

 Appearance. What types of clothes the character wears. His/her hygiene.
 Dialogue. What the character says and how the character says it.
 Thoughts and Feel. By what the character thinks and feels.
 Relationships. The types of personal relationships, such as friends and acquaintances the character has.

Characterization is the process by which the fiction writer reveals a character’s personality to the reader. This process is very similar to the process real people go through when
they encounter new situations or person. People form an initial opinion about a situation based upon what they see and hear. The fiction writer can reveal a character in the following
ways:

1. By telling the reader directly what the character is like (not a very subtle approach and not used often by writers);
2. By describing how the character looks and dresses (What type of clothing does the character wear?
3. By letting the reader hear how the character speaks (Does the character speak with a dialect? Is the character loud or soft-spoken?);
4. By revealing the character’s private thoughts and feelings (What does the character think about other people? About himself?);
5. By revealing the character’s effect on other people (Do people want to associate with the character? Do people do whatever the character asks?)
6. By showing the character’s actions (Does the character treat people who respect and courtesy? Does the character make good decisions or poor ones?).

The Character Profile/Character Sketch

Author Nancy Lamb wrote in “The Art and Craft of storytelling” that the challenge of the writer is to create characters that live and breathe on the page. To achieve this, the writer
must create characters that are:

 Authentic.
 Grab the attention of the reader.
 Believable.
 Appealing to the reader.

One method of developing a character is by using a character profile.

Before constructing the story, the fiction writer ought to have a good idea of what sorts of characters he/she will include in your story, such as the protagonist and villain. To help you
write about characters. You can create a character sketch or profile for each character. For each character sketch, include the following:
  Age
 Sex
 Name
 Education
 Job
 Interests
 Likes and dislikes
 Important traits
 Clothes
 Body language
 Name and moniker

The aspiring writer can ask the following questions to develop a character sketch:

1. Where is the character from?

2. What is the character’s social milieu or environment?
3. How old is the character?
4. What is the name of the character?
5. What does the character look like?
6. What does the character do for a living?
7. How does the character deal with conflict and change?
8. What is the character’s goal or motivation in the scene or story?

Dialogue
Much of what a reader learns about a character comes from what the character says and how the character says it. Keeping points in mind, the aspiring writer can use dialogue for
the following purposes:

1. To advance the plot. (Sam screamed, “I am going to kill you.”)

2. To reveal and express character emotions and traits. (The mother said, “You are lazy.”)
3. To allow characters to confront one another. (The boyfriend replied, “I am leaving you for my secretary.”)
4. To crystallize situations and relations. (“I love you.”)
5. To comment on the setting. (“I loathe this country.”)
6. To introduce a motif, symbol, or allusion. (“You look like the Mona Lisa.”)
7. To transition to a new scene or narrative summary. (“I will call you tomorrow.”)

For more information on how to use dialogue, read The Passion for Narrative.

How to Create Memorable Characters

There is no single method by which the fiction writer goes about creating memorable characters. Some get their ideas from real people. Others read about a character in the news.
Some use themselves as a basis of a character sketch.
To create memorable characters, the aspiring writer can follow these suggestions:
 1. Early in the story, define the main goal or purpose of the protagonist.
2. Create conflict throughout the story.
3. Create a struggle that the character must endure and overcome.
4. Create characters that are interesting and appealing to the reader.
5. Create convincing motivations for your characters.
6. Craft a story that the reader can relate to.
7. Create multi-dimensional characters.
8. Create characters that are able to defend themselves and overcome their antagonists or enemies.
9. The hero must be the instrument of his own salvation.

What is point of view? Point of view is an element of fiction. The fiction writer uses point of view to determine who is telling the story. The person who tells the story is the narrator. But the
narrator can have different points of view. Sometimes the main character tells the story, speaking in the first person “I.” Other times an observer to the events tells the story, and also speaks
in the first person “I.” Often the narrator is a non-participant to the story. The narrator views the story from a vantage point outside the story, speaking in the third person “he” or “she.”
This article discusses the different points of view and their advantages and disadvantages. As well, this article provides some suggestions on how an aspiring fiction writer can go about
selecting a point of view.

Point of View
The writer has three possible points of view to tell the story:

 First-person point of view (participates in the story)

 Second-person point of view (“you”)
 Third-person point of view.(doesn’t participate in the story)

Each point of view has advantages and disadvantages. So, it is important for the aspiring fiction writer know why he/she has chosen a particular point of view and narrator to tell the story.
The point of view has two parts: The way in which the story is told, and the perspective of the story. The narrative voice is the character telling the story, whereas the point of view is the
vantage point from which the story is told. The narrator can be an eye witness, observer, or someone outside the story. Moreover, the story can be told from a single point of view or multiple
points of view.
First Person Point of View (Participant-Point of View)
The narrator is a character in the story, either the protagonist, observer, or survivor. The observer can be a minor character. The survivor is a character who has lived to tell the tale.
In the first person, the narrator can reveal only personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees and is told by other characters. He can’t tell us thoughts of other characters. It is the
most intimate point of view, because the reader experience the story from an eye witness and only one point of view. As well, the narrator can express his or her own thoughts and feelings to
the reader. Often the narrator is the protagonist who is telling a story about himself/herself. The story is told from the perspective of “I.”
If the person participates in the story, the narrator is called the first-person participant. In “The Sun also Rises” by Ernest Hemmingway, the character telling the story is Jack Barnes, the
protagonist.
On the other hand, if the person observes the events of the story, and then narrates the story, he/she is called the first-person observer. In “The Great Gatsby” by F.Scott Fitzgerald, the
narrator is Nick Carraway, who isn’t the protagonist.
Finally, the narrator can be a survivor, one who lived to tell the tale.
Pros

 The narrator establishes an emotional connection with the reader. The first-person narrator is an eye witness who brings an intimate account of the events of the story.
 The narrator is an eye witness who has credibility.
 The reader experiences an intensely personal story.
 The writer can create an intimate portrait. The narrator can reveal his/her own thoughts and feelings to the reader.

Cons

 Narrator can only tell what he sees or has been told by others.
 The story is told from one point of view. Narrator cannot enter the mind of another character, to reveal another character’s thoughts and feelings.
 Narrator’s observation of other characters can be inaccurate.
 Everything in the story must be told by another character to the narrator or witnessed by the narrator.

The Unreliable Narrator

This term refers to narrators who have faults, biases, or character flaws. For instance, Holden Caulfield, in Catcher in the Rye, is an immature in his views of the world, and therefore
unreliable in his storytelling.

Second-Person Point of View

The story is told from the perspective of “you”. This is not a commonly used point of view in fiction writing. It is the point of view used in technical writing. The writer chooses this POV
when he/she wants the reader to become the main character in the story. Most readers find this POV awkward and unnatural. The question that usually gets asked by the reader is: Does “you”
refer to the reader or to the protagonist?”

Third-Person Point of View (Non-Participant POV)

The narrator or person telling the story isn’t a participant in the story. The story is told from the perspective of “he” or “she.” There are three types of third-person point of view:

 Third-person objective
 Third-person limited
 Third-person omniscient

Third-Person Objective. The narrator is not a character in the story. The narrator can report only what he or she sees and hears. The narrator can tell the events of the story to the reader. In
other words, the narrator can tell the reader what is happening in the story, but the narrator can’t tell the reader the thoughts or feelings of the characters.
Pros
  The third-person objective allows the reader to make inferences while reading the story.

Cons

 The narrator cannot tell the reader about what is going on in the mind of any character, not even the protagonist.
 The narrator can only tell the reader what is seen and heard in the story.

Third-Person Limited. The story is told from a single point of view using the “he/she” perspective. The narrator is not a character within the story. However, the narrator can who see into
the mind of one of the characters, and reveal to the reader what that character is thinking and feeling.
Pros

 The reader identifies with a single character in the story.

 The writer can provide emotional insights about the character.
 The writer can use a single character to interpret the events of the story.

Cons

 The writer can tell the story through the eyes of only one character.

The Harry Potter books are written in the third-person limited or single point of view.
Third-Person Omniscient. The narrator isn’t a participant in the story. The story is told using the “he” or “she” perspective. The narrator is an “all-knowing” outsider who can enter the
minds of any character. The narrator sees, hears, and knows everything that is going on within the story. The narrator can acquire information to tell the story from any character. Essentially,
the narrator is “God-like.” Therefore, the story can be told using multiple points of view.
Pros

 The writer can dramatize the thoughts and feelings of any character. The narrator is all-knowing. In other words, the narrator knows what every character is thinking, feeling, and doing. The narrator
can write anything about each character.
 The writer can tell the story from multiple points of view.

Cons

 The narrator is not a participant in the story.

 The reader can become confused about reading different thoughts and feelings of different characters.
 The reader can lose focus on the main elements of the story.
How to Choose a Point of View
Before writing the story, the writer needs to ask the following question:
Who is going to tell the story?
From the first person point of view, the writer can tell the story as a memory, write the story in a journal and have someone else tell the story, have the main character speak the story out loud,
have the main character tell the story as it happens. This POV is a popular method of telling the story.
Each of the third-person points of view has advantages and disadvantages. The writer who chooses to use the third person objective reveals allows the reader to interpret the story, such as
motives for actions. The writer who uses third-person limited is able to tell the story from one character, almost like the first person. This POV can be useful for writers who write fiction
based on personal experience or memory. (A Passion for Narrative)
When choosing the third-person point of view, the writer should choose dominant characters or the main characters. The writer should also choose the most interesting character to tell the
story.
In choosing POV, the writer also needs to decide on the mood of the story. If the writer wants to create a formal mood, he/she ought to use the third person. But, if the writer wants to create
an intimate mood, one in which the narrator reveals his inner most thoughts and feelings, the writer ought to use the first person.
Here are a few other questions the aspiring fiction writer needs to ask before selecting a point of view:

1. What mood does the writer intend to convey? Formal? Informal?

2. How would the story change if it was told from a single point of view?
3. What information must be excluded if the writer shifts from third person to first person point of view?

Before choosing a point of view, the writer also needs to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each point of view.

Resources for Writing Fiction

There are several good books available to help you learn about the elements of fiction. The following books—and resources that I recommend— were used to research this article:

 Writing Fiction: A Guide to the Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway

 Creative Writing: A Guide and Glossary to Fiction Writing by Colin Bulman
 The Art and Craft of Storytelling by Nancy Lamb
 How to Read Novels Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
 The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
 A Passion for Narrative: A Guide for Writing Fiction by Jack Hodgins

Next, I will write about “style and tone”.

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