Fiction term notes
Characters motives
Reasons for acting
Third person limited
The narrator is outside the story but focuses on and reports the thoughts and feelings of only one character
Direct characterization
The narrator makes direct statements about it characters traits or personality.
Chronological order
The order in which events occur
Characters
The people who take part in the action of the story
Plot
The sequence of events in a story
Setting
The time and place of the stories actions
Climax
The turning point in the story, the moment of highest tension or suspense. Normally happens towards the end of the story.
Rising action
Includes events and complications that intensify the conflict, it builds up to the climax
Types of conflict
Internal conflict, external conflict
Unreliable narrator
A first person narrator who is not reliable, or cannot be trusted because he or she is not always perceptive about what is going on in the story, or because he or she is deliberately not telling the whole truth.
Short story
A short prose narrative built on a plot that includes the basic situation, complications, climax, and resolution.
Symbol
An object or story element that stands for a larger meaning, this will often develop a theme.
Foreshadowing
Hints about what will happen later in the story, often used to create suspense
Short story extra notes
Intended to be read in a single setting, narration and character portrayals are compressed, leaves the reader with a unified strong impression called its main effect, usually focus on one central conflict.
Irony
Is a contradiction between appearance and reality
Theme
Is a statement literature makes about a topic. And states a "truth" about life or society and/or reveals something about human beings, or humanity.
in medias res
Latin for in the middle of things, refers to the stories that open in the middle of a situation.
Situational irony
Occurs when an action or event in a story contradicts the expectations of a character or the reader
Dramatic irony
Occurs when the audience knows something that the characters do not now
Surprise endings
Often present in situational irony because they involve a sudden turn of events that contradicts what the reader has been led to expect. This type of irony usually help convey the stories theme.
external conflict
Person versus person, person versus society, person versus nature, person versus supernatural, and person versus government
Flashbacks
Sections of the narrative that break from chronological order to describe the time before the present time of the story, often used to give insight into a characters motives.
Falling action
Sets up the stories ending, The intensity of the conflict lessons and events wind down. Often leading to the resolution.
Resolution
Shows the outcome of the conflict
Internal conflict
Takes place in the mind of a character, the character struggles to make a decision or overcome feelings
Exposition
The author introduces the setting and the characters. This section often includes an establishment of the main conflict
Character traits
The characters qualities, things that make their personality
Mood
The general feelings the story conveys
Point of view
the perspective from which a story is told
Indirect characterization
Readers learn what characters are like by analyzing what they say and do, as well as how other characters respond to them
Pacing
Refers to the "speed" with which a narrator relates events
First person
The narrator is a character in the story who participates in the action and uses the pronouns I and me
Third person omniscient
The narrator is outside the events of the story and tells and thoughts and feelings of more than one character
