Forms of Fiction

Novel

• prose narrative of considerable length and complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience

• 50,000 words or more.

Novella

• compact and pointed plot.

• 17,500-49,999 words.

Short Story

• An invented prose narrative usually deals with a few characters and aims at unity of effect, often concentrating on mood rather than plot.

• at least 2,000 words in length.

Literary fiction

• This appeals to the more intellectually adventurous crowd.

• explores any facet of the human condition and may involve social commentary.

• more literary merit than genre fiction.

Commercial fiction

• broad appeal to sell lots of copies.

• accessible and enjoyed by the average reader.

• Examples of commercial fiction include Dan Brown, J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and Stephen King.

Realistic Novel

Emphasizes the truthful representation of the actual fiction

Graphic Novel

a novel that combines words and images— essentially a comic.

Picaresque Novel

first-person narrative relating the adventures of a rogue lowborn adventurer as he drifts from place to place and from one social milieu to another in his effort to survive.

Historical Novel

set in a period of history that attempt to convey the spirit, manners, and social conditions of the past age with realistic details and fidelity.

Fantasy Novel

This can mean magic, the supernatural, alternate worlds, superheroes, monsters, fairies, magical creatures, mythological heroes- anything an author can imagine outside reality.

Bildungsroman Novel

• How the protagonist develops morally and psychologically.

• It is a German word that translates to "novel of education" or "novel of formation”

Epistolary Novel

A novel told through the medium of letters by one or more characters

Other Types of Novel

• Autobiographical

• Mystery (Detective)

• Gothic

• Romances

• Children’s Novel

• Interactive

Myths

symbolic narratives, usually of unknown origin and at least partly original.

Fables

feature animals that speak and behave as human beings in order to highlight human weaknesses.

Parables

tend to personify animal characters, often giving the same impression as does an animated cartoon, the typical parable uses human agents.

Allegory

expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations of the human experience.

Folktales

anonymous, timeless, and placeless tales that circulate orally among people.

Anecdote

narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident

Sketches

rough draft of a literary work

Vignette

Short and descriptive literary sketch

Fegshoot

The end goal is to explain a pun/joke.

Twitterature

Stories that you can make in a tweet (280 characters or less).

Flash Fiction

characteristically very short and consisting only of a few hundred words.

• Sudden, postcard, micro or nano fiction: dribble, drabble, and six-word

Implied Endings

Endings that are not detailed.

Salingkit

Discussed through a textual analysis or closed reading.

Closed Reading

• Read and absorb the text as is.

• Formalistic approach

Reader’s Response

• Makes readers question, if they like the context of the text.

• Opinionated or up to the reader’s interpretation and insights.

Dialogue

• First person

• Third person

Flash Forward Technique

• Time skip

• Double paragraph spacing

Unreliable Narrator

Narrates the surface level and does not analyze