Writing Fiction

• According to the dictionary, a STORY is the telling of a happening or a series of connected events.
• When we tell stories or read them, we are actually educating ourselves and enriching our imagination.
• Fiction is defined as “a series of imagined facts which illustrates truths about life.”
• One misconception about fiction is that it is opposed to truth and therefore considered false and untrue.
• But it does not at all oppose the truth, because the situations, incidents and characters found in fiction are
created to illustrate what may and can happen as long as the writer does not violate the rules of probability,
plausibility and necessity.
• Fiction does not require the presentation of actual people and situations, but characters and incidents may
be based on actual people and real-life events.
• Today, fiction is no longer limited to the usual book form.
• The internet has a big role in the redistribution of fiction and the creation of new forms such as fan fiction,
wattpad fiction, serial blog fiction, flash fiction and others.

Types of Fiction
• Short Story
• Is a brief, artistic form of prose fiction which centers on one main incident and intends to produce a single
dominant impression.
• Economy, compression and emphasis characterize the short story.
• It involves a strict selection of details-only those considered by the writer as meaningful and essential.
• A short story that emphasizes PLOT focuses on the development of the action through a complication
that leads to a resolution.
• A short story that focuses on CHARACTER focuses on the inner life of an individual who usually dominates
and determines the course of the narrative.
• A story that emphasizes SETTING uses local color to show what is distinct, exotic or picturesque in the
setting, the time, place, atmosphere of the story. (Ex. How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife)
• A short story may also emphasize the THEME or the MESSAGE to help readers understand better the
significant and fundamental truth about life and human nature. (Ex. Footnote to Youth)
• The world that the writer constructs in a short story is small but complete and self-contained. It
resembles the real world but differs from it in a sense that in the real world, events happen in a random
and disorganized fashion. In a short story, the writer chooses and organizes details with a definite
purpose in mind. Usually, the writer provides a definite resolution.
• As for the length, there is really no definite length for a short story but the writer must constantly
remember that it requires tighter focus than the novel.
• A short story must not exceed 20, 000 words. Once it exceeds, it is already a novelette.
• Novel
• A novel is an extensive prose narrative, a book-length story written in prose usually comprising
75,000-100,000 words.
• Because of its length, the novel can develop more characters, a more complicated plot, more
elaborate settings, and more themes.
• Other Genres of Fiction
• FABLE- a brief story that offers some pointed statements of truth or explicitly states a moral. The
characters in fables are anthropomorphized animals or natural forces, (animals or natural forces with
human traits or characteristics).
• Aesop- most famous writer of fables
• PARABLE- a brief narrative with a realistic plot. It implicitly teaches a moral. Unlike in fable, the main
characters in parables are human beings. A parable is more serious and suggestive than a fable. Its
meaning can be open to several interpretations.
• Examples: The Parable of the Prodigal Son, The Parable of the Good Shepherd
• TALE- it is a short narrative that is handed down from the past. It contains strange and wonderful events
without detailed characterization- the ones that you read on fairy tales
• One type of tale is the “tall tale”, a folk story which recounts the deeds of a superhero or of the
storyteller. Example: Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel
 • LEGEND- traditionally in Philippine Literature, a fictional narrative that explains the origins of things or
phenomena through supernatural events.
• In other definitions, legends are very old and popular stories which may or may not be true. (Arthurian
Legends, Legend of Robin Hood)
• MYTH- a traditional story consisting of events that are ostensibly historical, explaining the origins of a
cultural practice or a natural phenomenon.
• FOLKTALE- a story handed down from one generation to another through oral tradition. It originated and
traditional among people or folks, especially ones considered to be based on superstition.

Character as an Element of Fiction

Ö A character is an imagined person who inhibits a story.
Ö It refers to a textual representation of a human being, which may also be based on real people whom the
writer use as a model.
Ö Characters are the first essential ingredient in any successful story.
Ö Characters often also possess human personalities and qualities that are familiar to us and act in a
reasonably consistent manner.
Authors achieve characterization with a variety of techniques:
Ö By using the narrative voice to describe the character
Ö By showing the actions of the character and of those reacting to him/her
Ö By revealing the thoughts or dialogue of the character
Ö By showing the thoughts and dialogue of others in relation to the character
Ö By direct characterization- the narrator explicitly describes the character.
Ö By indirect characterization where the character traits are revealed through their actions

TYPES of CHARACTER
Stock Characters or Stereotyped characters
Ö These are characters that are easily recognizable because of the stereotype.
Ö They require less-detailed portrayal, we already know them well since they have dominant virtues and vices
Hero/Heroine
Ö The hero is the good guy or leading male character who opposes the villain or the bad guy
Ö The leading female character is the heroine
Ö The hero and heroine are usually larger than life like those found in epics and tales.
Ö They are often stronger or better than most human beings and possess godlike traits and qualities.
Ö In most modern fiction, however, the lead character is just an ordinary human being like the rest of us. This
type of character is also called the antihero because he does not fit the traditional heroic mold. He is a
flawed character who is more than just a good guy..
Protagonist
Ö It is an older and more neutral term than “hero” for the leading character which does not imply either the
presence or the absence of outstanding virtue. He or she is the person whom readers most closely identify.
Ö The central character, a person whom action centers and experiences conflict of the story.
Ö Usually seen as a good person or hero/heroine, but it doesn’t have to be always good.
Ö Usually round and dynamic.
Ö His opponent is the antagonist.
Antagonist
Ö Character or force that holds the action back.
Ö Character who wants something in opposition to the protagonist.
Ö Usually seen as a bad person/force or villain.
Ö The cause of the conflict. Sometimes, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a person.
Foil
Ö A foil serves as a contrast to the major character to highlight the particular qualities of the protagonist.
Ö Secondary or minor character, whose personal qualities contrast with another character, usually the
protagonist.
Major and Minor Character
Ö Major or main characters are also called lead characters.
Ö Minor characters often play significant roles in the way we understand or interpret major characters. They
are also pivotal in the changes that the main character undergo.
Flat Characters
Ö These are stock characters or stereotypes who are somehow capable of advancing the plot, but require only
the barest outlines of description.
Ö Most minor characters are flat characters who are not well-developed and is notable for one kind of
personality trait or characteristic.
Round Characters
Ö They are usually the protagonist.
Ö They have more than just one trait, complex and at times possess traits that may even seem contradictory.
Ö They are well-developed, has many traits-both good and bad.
Ö They are not easily defined because we know many details about the characters.
Ö They are realistic and life-like.
Ö Most major characters are round.
Ö He or she is often portrayed as conflicted and contradictory person.
Dynamic Characters
Ö Undergoes an important change in personality in the story.
Ö He/she changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis.
Ö A change occurs within the character because of the events of the story.
Ö The protagonist is usually dynamic, but not always.
Static Characters
Ö Do not experience basic character changes throughout the course of the story.
Ö Remains the same throughout the story, although something may happen to the character.
Ö Minor characters are usually static.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION: POINT OF VIEW

× Point of view is very important in telling a story. it refers to the narrator in the story, the vantage point from
where readers observe the events of the story, or a writer’s special angle of vision, the one whose
perspective is told.
× Every story has a narrator, the teller of the story from whose eyes we look through as we read. It is throuhg
his eyes that the events in the story are unfold.

Understanding Various Points of View

FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW
× In this point of view, the narrator is a participant in the action.
× It uses first person pronouns such as “I, we, my, mine, me, myself, our, ours and us”.
× The narrator may be either a major character or a minor character who tells us directly his or her own
version of the events that happen.
× The narrator may also be merely watching the story involving someone else unfold. He or she may be close
to the events he or she describes or distant from them.
× This point of view makes the reader feel like the character’s confidante who is privileged to hear his or her
thoughts and feel his or her emotions
× the first person point of view is limited though in the sense that the reader can only know the details and
thoughts from the narrator, not from the other characters.
Example
I wake up early in the morning. After I finish my cup of coffee, I would ride my bike and pedal for a couple of
blocks towards the local bakery. The baker is waiting for me. After a few words, I would take what I came
here for and put them in the box I tied on my bike. Then, I would start my journey, riding my bike around our
place, stopping by and by to the people waiting for me so that they could have their breakfast.
 SECOND PERSON POINT OF VIEW
× It is used to tell story to another character with the word “You”.
× It is mostly told in the future tense.
× It creates an effect similar to conversational anecdotes. The reader may identify himself or herself as the
person addressed by the writer.
× a writer uses this point of view to make the readers feel that they are part of the story and that they are
characters themselves.
× Remember that it s hard to maintain the flow of the narrative using the second person point of view.
Shifting into another point of view will confuse the reader.
Example
You say, “I’m only going to say this once. I am not going with you to the mall.” you hate doing it but you have
no intention of admitting to him that the reason is that you want to work on your history project.

Third PERSON POINT OF VIEW

× It is the most commonly used point of view.
× It uses third person personal pronouns like “he, she, they, his, her, their”.
× The pronouns “I, You, and Me” only appear in dialogues.
× It employs a nonparticipant narrator that can usually move from place to place to describe action and report
dialogue.
× The author takes on role of the narrator.

TYPES OF THIRD PERSON POV

THIRD PERSON OBJECTIVE NARRATION

× In this mode of narration, the narrator tells a third person’s story, but the narrator only describes character’s
behaviour and dialogue.
× The narrator does not reveal any character’s thoughts or feelings.
× The readers will be able to understand character’s thoughts or motivations based on character’s actions and
dialogue, which are narrated; however the narrator will not explicitly reveal character’s thoughts and/or
motivations in narration
× The narrator renders explicit, observable details and does not have access to the internal thoughts of the
character or background information about the setting or situation.
× A character’s thought, for example, are inferred only by what is expressed openly, in actions or in words.

THIRD PERSON LIMITED OR SELECTIVE OMNISCIENCE

× In this mode of narration, the author uses a major or minor character as a sole viewpoint character in the
story.
× He or she is a non-participating narrator who witnesses events as they unfold.
× Writers limit themselves to the thought and perceptions of one character and the reader sees the events
only from the perspective of the narrator.
× With this set-up, the readers form interpretations and opinions based only on what the narrator has
experienced.

THIRD PERSON OMNISCIENT OR ALL –KNOWING POV

× This POV sees into the mind of all the characters, moving from one character to another when needed..
× The narrator knows everything about the characters, their past, their lives, their future, their innermost
thoughts.
× The narrator even goes inside the heads of the other characters to express their thoughts, observations, and
feelings