MODULE IN CREATIVE NONFICTION

Second Semester; First Quarter

Learning Competencies:
1. Analyze and interpret the theme and techniques used in a particular text
2. Create samples of the different literary elements based on one’s experience (e.g. metaphor to describe an emotion)

Learning Targets:
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
1. Read sample works and analyze the techniques used and the underlying themes;
2. Write sample sentences/paragraphs about a personal experience utilizing the different literary elements.

VOCABULARY LIST
1. Characters are persons, animals and other things that make the story alive.
2. Setting basically refers to the time and place of the narrative. It also includes the set and background of the story or play.
3. Plot refers to the strings of event present in the narrative.
4. Point of view is the narrator’s way of telling the story.
5. Conflict is struggle of the pre-eminent character with other characters or forces of the story.
6. Theme is the subject of the story.
7. Poetry is an art form that uses figurative languages such as simile and metaphor.
8. Drama is an art form that is usually done on stage.
9. Fiction is an art form that usually uses the ordinary language. Short story and novel are examples of fiction.
10. Dialogue is the exchange of ideas of the characters in a fiction.

Elements of Fiction
How does one say that a particular work is fiction? Generally, fiction work is not real hence writers can utilize both the
imagination and complex figurative language to appeal to the readers. Fiction is also characterized by structured language, adherence
to proper grammatical pattern, and correct mechanics. A work of fiction may combine fantastical and imaginary ideas from
everyday life. Written imaginatively, it comprises some important elements like plot, setting, character, conflict, and point of view to lead
the readers to its theme.
Because literature is basically an art and not a science, it is not always a good idea to specifically approach fiction while
looking for these elements. Rather, it is better to read a fiction work and examine it closely then decide for yourself what element(s)
was/were highlighted and how important and significant it is to what the writer is trying to convey.
For beginning fiction writers, on the other hand, it is important to know what makes fiction. A chef trying to cook a particular
gourmet dish should know the ingredients and how each will affect the flavor of the food being prepared. This is similar to writing. With
this understanding in mind, let us find out the ingredients when cooking up fiction.

A. Character

Characters are beings who live in the story. They can be actual people from this planet to aliens from somewhere in the outer
space. At other times, they can be animals, and even inanimate objects; they can even be supernatural presences or make-believe
creatures like goblins, fairies, dragons, or elves.
Characters are important in fiction because they are the ones with whom the readers empathize. Readers also look for
characters to root for or against, to fall in love with, to care or to hate, and even dream to meet.
Readers come to know and understand the characters’ actions, motivations, feelings and emotions through what they say,
what they think, how they act, and even through what other characters say about them. A writer should therefore take this in
consideration when creating the characters to life.
Characters can be flat or round. A flat character is not sufficiently developed, described very little, and plays very minor role in
the narrative. Sometimes they are simply stock characters or those known simply as the “wicked stepmom,” or the “loyal servant.”
A round character, on the other hand, has a leading role in the narrative. In contrast with a flat character, a round character is
complex, multi-dimensional, and well-developed that they seem “to come to life.” These characters may undergo change through the
circumstances where they are placed, hence making them lifelike.
Characters can also be static or dynamic (also called developing). A static character remains the same throughout the
narrative while a dynamic one undergoes change. The change can be brought by factors and elements experienced by the character
and may impact on his or her attitudes, beliefs, or actions.
B. Setting

Simply put, setting answers the question “where” and “when” about the narrative. Answers to these questions give rise to the
two types of setting: the physical and chronological setting.
Physical setting refers to where the story takes place. It can be very general like in a farm, a school, or a laboratory; or it can
be specific, like “in the Metropolitan Naga Cathedral,” or “at McDonald’s Diversion Road branch.”
The chronological setting can also be general or specific, as during the “Christmas season,” or “during the early morning of
December 16 in 2019.”
Sometimes, the setting is immaterial to the story, as when the writer wants to be universal and not limited by time and space.

Aside from the chronological and physical setting, it also includes the following:

a) the immediate surroundings of the characters such as props in a scene: trees, furniture, food, inside of a house or car, etc.,
b) the weather such as cloudy, sunny, windy, snow, or rain, etc., and
c) the geographical location including the city, state, country, and possibly even the universe, if the writer is writing science fiction.

C. Plot

Plot is the order of events in the story. Writers usually follow a particular plot structure, called “Freytag’s Pyramid,” although
this is not always the case, as some may opt to start from the middle part or ending part and go backwards to where the events began.
Freytag’s Pyramid is named after the German playwright of the 1800s, Gustav Freytag, and has the five-part plot structure
which includes the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement, also known as resolution.

Freytag’s Pyramid

a) Exposition introduces the characters, time, and the problem. This occurs at the start of the story up to the point where an inciting
incident happens for the main character to handle or solve. The exposition creates the beginning of the story.
b) Rising action includes the happenings that the main character encounters. As each event develops, more complications arise,
making the problem more complex for the character.
c) Climax refers to the turning point in the story. This is usually a single event with the greatest intensity and uncertainty. Here the main
character contends with the problem hence creating the peak of interest for the readers.
d) Falling action are the events that unfold after the climax. The resulting events after the climax create an emotional response from the
reader.
e) Denouement or resolution provides closure and ties up loose ends in the story.

D. Conflict

Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces or entities. The main character encounters a conflict which may be an
adversary or any other force to contend with.
Generally, there are two types of conflict: external and internal. External conflict could be man against nature (a mother and
her child evacuating at the height of typhoon Yolanda), or man against man (a student being harassed by a bully classmate). Internal
conflict could be man against society or culture, or man against himself or herself.
Readers might find external conflict more exciting than internal conflict, but it is worthwhile to think that in real life, people
experience more of the latter than of the former.

E. Point of view
Who is telling the story? How is the story told? Point of view answers these questions.
 There are three different types of point of view which writers use in telling fiction.

a) First person point of view means that the story is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters who may be the protagonist or main
character in the narrative. Here, first person personal pronouns are used like I, me, my, we, and our. By using this point of view,
readers may feel an affinity and empathy for the narrator as the narration can include the narrator’s motives, thoughts and feelings. On
the other hand, this view may be limited as it cannot say for certain other characters’ thoughts, feelings, and motives.

b) The second person point of view which is seldom used, speaks to the reader as if the reader is the protagonist. At other times, the
narrator may use apostrophe, a figurative language where the speaker talks to an absent or unidentified person. The second person
pronouns are used here like you and your.

c) The third person point of view is classified into third person limited and third person omniscient. In both types of view, the narrator is
not a character nor in the story. In third person limited, the narrator is limited only to one of the character’s thoughts. In third person
omniscient, the narrator is “all-knowing” and “all-seeing” and knows various characters’ thoughts. This view uses third person pronouns
like he, she, it, and they.

F. Theme
Theme is the underlying truth conveyed by the author through the story. Themes are usually universal which means that they
are understood by readers across cultures, eras, or nationalities. Some common themes include coming of age, circle of life, prejudice,
greed, good vs. evil, and beating the odds. Theme is different from the moral or lesson of a narrative.

Elements of Poetry

Rhyme
This is the easiest feature to identify in a poem. If the last word in the first line of poetry rhymes with the last word in the
second line, or the third, you can easily identify a pattern. Rhyme does not depend upon spelling; it is a matter of sound, or
pronunciation.

Rhyme Scheme
When you can identify a repeating pattern of similar-sounding words at the ends of the lines, then you have a rhyme scheme.
Simply assign a letter of the alphabet (starting with A, of course) to each word at the end of a line of poetry; rhyming words are given
the same letter. Sometimes a pair of words nearly rhymes; you assign the same letter to each of these words also.

Rhythm
Rhythm (or meter) is a slightly more difficult aspect of poetry for some students. There is a natural rise and fall in our
language: we stress certain syllables and words more than others in order to emphasize meaning. In poetry, these patterns of stressed
and unstressed syllables or words form a rhythm or meter. There is a name for each of the common patterns. In your study of poetry, it
is not necessary to memorize and agonize over these lists of terms. They are presented here merely for your information and as a
starting point in understanding the rhythm of poetry.
There were rules in writing poetry in the past. Poets arranged lines (also called verses) into groups called stanzas. Usually the
poems were quite neat and evenly-shaped - the lines were roughly the same length, the stanzas all contained a pre-determined
number of lines. The rhyme schemes were regular, and the rhythm was identifiable.
Nowadays, modern poets break all of these rules because they feel that their poetry will be stilted and artificial if they cannot
write freely, hence the term free verse. At first glance it appears that all of the conventions of poetry have been thrown away when you
read such poetry, but in many ways free verse is more difficult to write. The poet creates his or her own form, although the poem must
still sound like a poem; otherwise, it is prose. The poet is free to choose whether or not to use rhyme or a natural rhythm which does
not follow a set pattern.
Poetry, even more so than the other genres of literature, employs figurative language to the best effect. Poets use literary
devices as tools to create images or vivid word pictures, for the reader. Figures of speech require fewer words to express these
images, and this “compact” feature lends itself especially well to poetry, where there is usually a limit to the length of a verse. The topic
on figurative language will be discussed in the succeeding lessons.

Elements of Drama
Drama is pretty much similar in certain narrative aspects to fiction, like the presence of characters, plot, setting, conflict, and
theme. Since drama is intended for performance, it has particular elements, though, which are distinct from other genres. This includes
presentation elements like venue, costumes, set design, lighting design, and music.