Elements of Fiction

Internal conflict

struggle that occurs within a person, involving opposing desires, beliefs, or emotions

External conflict

a struggle between a character and an outside force, such as another person, society, nature, or technology

Protagonist

the main character in a story, and they are the central figure around whom the plot revolves

Antagonist

a character, group, force, or concept that opposes the protagonist's goals, creating central conflict in a story

Genre

a category of a text based on its style, form, or content.

Genre Conventions

the expected, recurring elements (like settings, characters, themes, plot devices) that define a specific type of story

Theme

the central, unifying idea or message in a literary work that explores a universal concept, such as love, family, or redemption

Anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to non-human entities like animals, inanimate objects, or abstract ideas

Didactic Literature

writing intended to teach, instruct, or convey a moral, ethical, or practical lesson to the reader

Archetype

a universal, recurring pattern of character, symbol, theme, or plot that appears across different stories and cultures

Moral

a lesson about right and wrong conveyed through a story, a set of principles of ethical conduct, or the quality of being virtuous or ethical

Fable

a short, often allegorical, story designed to teach a moral lesson, commonly using anthropomorphized animals, plants, or inanimate objects as characters

Verbal Irony

a figure of speech where a speaker or writer says one thing but means the opposite

Situational Irony

a literary device where the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what is expected

Plot

the sequence of causally linked events that form the structure of a narrative, often organized in a specific order

Exposition

the part of a story that provides background information, setting the stage by introducing characters, the setting, and the initial situation before the main plot unfolds

Rising Action

the series of events in a story that builds tension and leads to the climax

Climax

the highest point of tension in a story, the turning point where the main conflict reaches its peak and the protagonist faces their biggest challenge

Falling Action

the part of the story after the climax (the peak of tension) where the main conflict starts to resolve, tension decreases, loose ends are tied up

Resolution

the part of the story where the conflicts are resolved, loose ends are tied up, and the narrative comes to a close

Symbol

the use of objects, people, actions, or events to represent abstract ideas beyond their literal meaning

Tone

the author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject matter, characters, or audience, conveyed through their choice of words, sentence structure, and other stylistic elements

Mood

the emotional atmosphere that the author creates to make the reader feel a certain way

1st person perspective

a narrative style where the story is told from a character's own perspective using pronouns like "I," "me," "we," and "us"

2nd person perspective

a narrative style that uses the pronoun "you" to speak directly to the reader, making them the protagonist of the story

3rd person limited

a narrative point of view that follows a single character's perspective, using pronouns like "he," "she," and "they" while showing only that character's thoughts, feelings, and experiences

3rd person omniscient

a narrative perspective where an external narrator knows everything about the story, including the thoughts, feelings, and actions of all characters

Foreshadowing

a literary device where an author gives hints or clues about future events in the story

Catharsis

the purging or cleansing of strong emotions (like pity and fear) from an audience or reader

Dionysis