Writing Fiction: An Introduction

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Fiction is any literary work that is invented using the imagination instead of factual events. It includes novels, short stories, plays, and literature. Some fiction, like historical fiction, has some background in fact, but the overall story is imaginary.

Elements of Fiction

Plot: the interaction within a story.

Setting: where the story takes place (time, location).

Character: the people, animals, or things in a story, including the protagonist (hero), the antagonist (villain), and supporting characters.

Conflict: the struggle between two opposing forces.

Point of View: the perspective in which the story is being told.

Theme: the main idea of a story.

Symbolism: the representation of an idea or a concept.

Cause and Effect: the logical pattern of action in a story.

Show versus tell: describing the story instead of telling a sequence of events.