A brief guide to: Fiction & Non-Fiction

A brief guide to:Fiction & Non-Fiction • By: Rachel Rhodes, • Veronica Pacheco, • Tyus Carver

A general View Setting Plot Time and Sequence Point of View Character Development Theme Other Literary Devices • Fiction is the invention of fabrication, as opposed to Non-Fiction, which is based on reality. • Both types of writing are consisted of several literary devices, and all work together to create a great piece of prose.

Let’s go over some information

Setting • The setting to a story is very important. It’s where everything happens!

Setting Cont. • Without the setting, we essentially have no story. • The setting can be found in the text you are reading, and the author usually points it out in a vivid manner.

Setting Cont. “Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o'clock. There was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line and dip immediately from view.” (Jack London, To Build A Fire)

Plot • What’s going on? The plot will tell you!

Plot cont. • The plot is what’s going on in the story. It isn’t always stated right to you, but with context clues, you can figure it out.

Plot cont. "He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced--or seemed to face--the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself." (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby)

Time and Sequence • Don’t lose your place, Time and Sequence keeps the order.

Time and Sequence Cont. • Time and Sequence tell you when things in the story happen, and in what order. It’s almost like math.. No? Ok then.

Time and Sequence Cont. Any kind of How-To is a great basic example of this! The steps are in order, and are very explanative. 1. Get cup. 2. Pour water in cup. 3. Pour Kool-Aid in cup. 4. Enjoy Kool-Aid! Simple!

Point of View • Who’s doing what?

Point of View cont. • A point of view is what a character sees, feels, or thinks for himself. That is his or her “Point of View.”

Point of view cont. “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping.” (Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games)

Character Development • You can’t have a story without a little character...

Character Development cont. • Characters develop in several different ways, and the more ways, the better.

Character Description Cont. • These are the main ways a character is developed and introduced throughout a story: • Description; This describes the character, the character’s feelings, thoughts, actions, etc. • Interaction with Surroundings and Others: This describes the character’s actions when he or she is talking to others, or exploring his or her surroundings. • Speech: This describes the character’s speech process, way of speaking, opinions, and other vital links. • Thoughts and Feelings: This describes the character’s ideas on a topic, the way the character thinks, and other important, non-spoken information.

Theme • Not the musical kind...

Theme cont. • The theme is the central idea and message of the story or poem you are reading.

Theme Cont. Maybe it's bricks and mortar now, whether or not they run it downI don't want anything to shake that shape awayNo one told us which way to come, nobody mapped oblivionSo I go growing roses in the disarrayJust like most, falling head in'Til my ghost fills the bed inSo lift it up like a bannerHold it up over meIf this war is never endingI'll take this love down with meLike a banner (Lights (Valerie Poxleitner,) Banner)

Other Literary Devices • Mood: Created by the author, the mood is an overall feeling in the story. • Imagery: This is used with description to convey messages of different, important happenings in the story. • Symbolism: The use of symbols, such as ✒, ☥, ☭, and ☄ to convey ideas of characters, or themes of the story. • Irony: Usually sarcastic, to use irony is to have the opposite happen of what was expected. • Allusion: An allusion is a reference to something else, for example, within another piece of literature, or to another happening in history. • Language: The type of language used helps to convey the theme, mood, and setting of the story, like, old english, regional slang, or other things of this nature • Argument: A character’s argument is a descriptive factor, as well as a device used to create tension in the plot.

A brief guide to: Fiction & Non-Fiction