Part II, Chapter 1: Fiction: An Overview

The essence of fiction, as opposed to drama, is narration, the recounting or telling of a sequence of events or actions.

Fiction is rooted in ancient legends and myths.

An especially long tale, an epic, was recited during a period of days.

Perhaps nowhere is the moral-instructive aspect of ancient storytelling better illustrated than in the fables of Aesop, a Greek who probably wrote in the sixth century BCE, and in the parables of Jesus as told in the Gospels of the New Testament (see Chapter 7).

Perhaps nowhere is the moral-instructive aspect of ancient storytelling better illustrated than in the fables of Aesop, a Greek who probably wrote in the sixth century BCE, and in the parables of Jesus as told in the Gospels of the New Testament (see Chapter 7).

The first true works of fiction in Europe, however, were less concerned with society or politics than adventure. These were the lengthy Spanish and French romances of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

In English the word novel was borrowed from French and Italian to describe these works and to distinguish them from medieval and classical romances as something that was new (the meaning of novel). In England the word story was used along with novel in reference to the new literary form.

Fiction, along with drama, has a basis in realism or verisimilitude. That is, the situations or characters, although they are the invention of writers, are similar to those that many human beings experience, know, or think.

Fiction, along with drama, has a basis in realism or verisimilitude. That is, the situations or characters, although they are the invention of writers, are similar to those that many human beings experience, know, or think.

Stories, like plays, are about characters, who are not real people but who are nevertheless like real people. A character may be defined as a reasonable representation of a human being, with all the good and bad traits of being human.

In a well-done story, all the actions or incidents, speeches, thoughts, and observations are linked together to make up an entirety, sometimes called an organic unity.

The essence of this unity is the development and resolution of a conflict—or conflicts—in which the protagonist, or central character, is engaged.

The essence of this unity is the development and resolution of a conflict—or conflicts—in which the protagonist, or central character, is engaged.

The interactions of causes and effects as they develop sequentially or chronologically make up the story's plot.

Often the protagonist's struggle is directed against another character—an antagonist.

Structure refers to the way a story is put together according to some sort of plan.

A theme is an exploration of an idea—an idea in movement that persists throughout the story.

An issue (which today has become a broad and perhaps overused word) may involve a work's characters in direct or indirect argument or opposition, and it may also bring out vitally important moments of decision about matters of private or public concern.

One of the most important ways in which writers knit their stories together, and also an important way in which they try to interest and engage readers, is through the careful control of point of view—the voice of the story, the speaker who does the narrating.

The speaker or narrator—terms that are interchangeable—may sometimes seem to be the author speaking directly using an authorial voice.

The speaker or narrator—terms that are interchangeable—may sometimes seem to be the author speaking directly using an authorial voice.

The third-person point of view may be (1) limited, with the focus being on one particular character and what he or she does, says, hears, thinks, and otherwise experiences...

The third-person point of view may be (2) omniscient, with the possibility that the activities and thoughts of all the characters are open and fully known by the speaker...

The third-person point of view may be (3) dramatic, or objective, in which the story is confined only to the reporting of actions and speeches, with no commentary and no revelation of the thoughts of any of the characters unless the characters themselves express their thoughts dramatically.

The third-person point of view may be (3) dramatic, or objective, in which the story is confined only to the reporting of actions and speeches, with no commentary and no revelation of the thoughts of any of the characters unless the characters themselves express their thoughts dramatically.

Together with narration, an essential aspect of fiction is description—those words that cause readers to imagine or re-create the scenes and actions of a story.

Mood and atmosphere are important aspects of descriptive writing, and to the degree that descriptions are thought provoking, they may reach the level of metaphor and symbolism.

Mood and atmosphere are important aspects of descriptive writing, and to the degree that descriptions are thought provoking, they may reach the level of metaphor and symbolism.

Another major tool of the writer of fiction is dialogue. By definition, dialogue is the conversation of two people, but more than two characters may also participate.

In every story we may consider tone—the ways in which authors convey attitudes toward readers and also toward the work's subjects.

One of the major components of tone—irony—refers to language and situations that seem to reverse normal expectations.

Word choice is the characteristic of verbal irony, in which what is meant is usually the opposite of what is said, as when we mean that people are doing badly even though we say that they are doing well.

Situational irony refers to circumstances in which bad things happen to good people, or in which rewards are not earned because forces beyond human comprehension seem to be in total control, making the world seem arbitrary and often absurd.

In dramatic irony characters have only a nonexistent, partial, incorrect, or misguided understanding of what is happening to them, while both readers and other characters understand the situation more fully.

Writers may also include commentary, analysis, or interpretation, in the expectation that readers need insight into the characters and their actions.

A difficult or even impossible choice—a dilemma—is a natural conflict for an individual person.