Unit 1: Fiction

1. Unit 1: Fiction Plot

2. Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. • —Virginia Woolf <skip intro>

3. What is fiction? • Fiction is a genre, or category of literary composition, that includes any work of prose that tells an invented or imaginary story.

4. What are the two main forms of fiction? • The two main forms of fiction are the short story and the novel.

5. What are your favorite types of fiction? • Realistic fiction • Mystery • Science fiction • Romance • Historical fiction • Horror • Fantasy • Sports fiction

6. What are the purposes of fiction? • To entertain readers • To enlighten readers by sharing the human experience • To provide readers with an escape from reality • To teach readers empathy • To help readers explore unknown worlds

7. What are the five elements of fiction? • Plot • Point of view • Characters • Setting • Theme

8. Plot • Plot is a series of related events that drive a story.

9. What do you think makes a plot interesting and memorable? A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is—full of surprises. —Isaac Bashevis Singer

10. A plot is the frame that gives a story its structure. There are five elements of plot:

11. The exposition is the introduction to the plot. • In the exposition • characters are introduced • setting is revealed • mood or tone is established

12. In the rising action, the main character tries to solve a problem and encounters several obstacles along the way, resulting in a conflict.

13. Conflict is what drives the plot. • There are four types of conflict: • person versus person • person versus society • person versus nature • person versus self

14. The climax, or turning point, is the high point of interest and suspense in the plot.

15. The falling action consists of all the events that follow the climax • These events include the results of the main character’s action or decision.

16. The resolution, or conclusion, is the point at which the central conflict is ended, or resolved.

17. A story’s plot organization is often framed by time. • Chronological order unfolds events in the order in which they occur. • Flashback interrupts time sequence and presents an event that occurred earlier or in the past. • Foreshadowing provides a hint or clue to events that will occur in the future or later in the story.

18. A Time Line can help you understand a story’s plot organization. This Time Line is for “Thank You, M’am,” by Langston Hughes. Mrs. Jones is walking home when Roger tries to steal her purse. Roger says he wanted the money to buy blue suede shoes. Mrs. Jones and Roger eat supper; she tells him about her job. Mrs. Jones walks Roger out; he is too stunned to thank her. Mrs. Jones drags Roger to her apartment. Mrs. Jones cooks supper; Roger does not try to escape. Mrs. Jones gives Roger ten dollars for the shoes. Roger watches from the steps as Mrs. Jones shuts the door.

19. To understand a story’s plot organization, make a Time Line of events for a fairy tale or folk tale.

20. Mrs. Jones gives Roger ten dollars for the shoes. Mrs. Jones drags Roger to her apartment. Climax Mrs. Jones walks Roger out; he is too stunned to thank her. Rising Action Falling Action Plot Diagram Exposition Resolution Mrs. Jones is walking home when Roger tries to steal her purse. Roger watches from the steps as Mrs. Jones shuts the door. • Converting a Time Line into a Plot Diagram can reveal which events fall into each part of a story’s plot.

21. Convert the Time Line you created for a fairy tale or folk tale into a Plot Diagram. Climax Rising Action Falling Action Plot Diagram Exposition Resolution

22. SUMMARY: Plot • A good plot must • advance the action • relate events in a logical, easy-to-follow order • engage the main character in some type of conflict • provide an element of surprise or suspense • provoke questions in the readers’ minds