For example, for characters who play the supporting cast in a story, direct description of the character’s traits keeps the story from slowing down.īeginning and intermediate level writers frequently settle for creating types, rather than highly individualized, credible characters. Still, sometimes a summary of a character’s traits needs to be given. Though the writer should know everything there is to know about her character, she should present her knowledge of the characters indirectly, through dialogue and action. Harry exists in the middle, thus illustrating his inner conflict and immaturity at the beginning of the book series.īecause character is so important to plot and fiction, it’s important for the writer to understand her characters as much as possible. Ron and Hermione represent personalities that in many ways are opposites - Ron is a bit lazy and insecure Hermione is driven and confident. For example in the Harry Potter series, Hermione and Ron are Harry's friends, but they also help readers better understand the protagonist, Harry. Foil Character: a character(s) who helps readers better understand another character, usually the protagonist.Antagonist: opponent or enemy of the protagonist (Dark Lord Voldemort).Protagonist: the main or central character or hero (Harry Potter).For most traditional fiction, characters are divided into the following categories: The actions that occur in the plot are only believable if the character is believable. The plot depends on the characters' situations and how they respond to it. CharacterĬharacter can’t be separated from action, since we come to understand a character by what she does. Insofar as plot reveals some kind of human value or some idea about the meaning of experience, plot is related to theme. Making events significant in plot begins with establishing a strong logic that connects the events. In some stories, the climax is followed by a denouement, or resolution of the climax. This is the penultimate part of the story, before the climax, or the most heightened moment of a story. The complication leads up to a crisis point where something must change. Traditionally, a story begins with some kind of description that then leads to a complication. Plot also fluctuates, so that something is settled or thrown off balance in the end, or both. How does love, longing, regret and ambition play out in a story? It depends on the character the writer has created.īecause plot depends on character, plot is what the character does. Plot occurs when the writer examines human reactions to situations that are always changing. If a sequence of events is merely reflexive, then plot hasn’t come into play. As Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren wrote in Understanding Fiction, fiction is interpretive: “Every story must indicate some basis for the relation among its parts, for the story itself is a particular writer’s way of saying how you can make sense of human experience.” The cause-and-effect connection between one event and another should be logical and believable, because the reader will lose interest if the relation between events don’t seem significant. The author imbues the story with meaning by a selection of detail. Authors can’t present all the details related to an action, so certain details are brought to the forefront, while others are omitted. This does not mean that events happen in chronological order the author may present a line of action that happens after the story’s conclusion, or she may present the reader with a line of action that is still to be determined. Trying to understand why the author chose a particular line of action over another leads to a better understanding of how plot is working in a story When reading a work of fiction, keep in mind that the author has selected one line of action from the countless possibilities of action available to her. It’s useful to think of plot as a chain reaction, where a sequence of events causes other events to happen. Plot is created by the manner in which the writer arranges and organizes particular actions in a meaningful way. Plot is what happens in a story, but action itself doesn’t constitute plot. This resource covers the basics of plot, character, theme, conflict, and point-of-view. A sample assignment sheet is also provided for instructors. The distinction between beginning and intermediate writing is provided for both students and instructors, and numerous sources are listed for more information about fiction tools and how to use them. This resource discusses some terms and techniques that are useful to the beginning and intermediate fiction writer, and to instructors who are teaching fiction at these levels. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.
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