h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I recently took a writing fiction course, and offer what I learned to help with this project. Feel free to use whatever you like...

Basic parts of a short story and a brief description of each:

1. Plot - a series of events that occur, the action of the story. This is split into five parts:
A. Activating Circumstance: incident that sets the action of the story in motion.
B. Rising Action: events which increase the tension of the plot.
C. Climax: turning point; after the climax things are different
D: Falling Action: events which decrease the tension of the plot
E: Denoument(Resolution): ties up loose ends; end, final event

2. Conflict: Set of opposing forces in the story. _____ vs. ______.
There are, I think seven stndard ones, but the conflict can be something else. The ones I remember are: man v. nature, man v. self, man v. God, man v. man, man v. machine. I forget the others.

3. Characters:
A: Protagonist: main character
B: Antagonist/Antagonistic force: opposes protagonist
C: Confidant: someone protagonist confides in

D: Developing characters:
1. Round - fully formed; reader should know the character, be able to predict their behavior; complex character with a mixture of positive and negative traits.
2. Flat - functionary character
3. Characterization - process by which character traits are revealed. can be through action, dialogue, the narrator giving past information, figures of speexh, or description. Note: Only include physical description to bring out character traits.

4. Setting: background before which the action of the story takes place. Can be very important to the story, and can be interactive. There are 3 aspects to the setting:
A. Time
B: Place
C: State of mind (of protagonist). In a short story one of these is dominant, in a novel, all 3 are equally developed.

5. Point of view: literary point of view is the teller of the story.
1st person - I, we
2nd person - you, you
3rd person - he/she, they

1st person POV. - Immediately establishes a connection with the reader but is limited in that the reader can only know one perspective.

2nd person POV. - Not usually used

3rd person POV. - A. Limited 3rd - narrator only knows about protagonist (knows EVERYTHING about he/she)
B. Omniscient 3rd - narrator is God - knows everything about everyone and the universe (most free form-what I usually use)

6. Tone - mood of the work, the emotion that is established. 3 key times that tone is set: The beginning, immediately before the climax(this allows the climax to be in sharp contrast with everything else), and the end.

7. Language - Diction = word choice; Syntax = sentence structure which sets the pace.

8. Imagery - sensory perceptions which elicit an emotional response in the reader

9. Symbolism - item represents something in support of the theme

10. Theme - message or idea expressed by the story

While there is much more to be said, this are the basic components of a short story and should give most beginning writers a good foundation. Thanks to Dr. Margot Banks for imparting this wisdom to me. Hope this helps....

Hello Wordscrambler,
Thanks for your, 'Writing Fiction,' contribution. I think I am going to find it very useful. I used to belong to a Writers' Circle and got a couple of short stories published, trouble with the Circle though was that although they were very friendly and encouraging no one really knew any more about writing than I did. I got more rejections than anything else, (don't we all?), my acceptances were pure luck. Kind of, managing to get everything just right those couple of times but unable to do it regularly and so got discouraged and gave up. I feel like starting again and have begun by writing 500 words per day to get myself going. Did you find the course helpful and are you now getting published? I have just ordered a book called, 'What If' which is supposed to jump start your imagination. Good Luck with your work anyway.

hi, i know a small amount about narrative theorists from my media studies AS course and could find out more but if any of it might be usefull let me know. basically Proppian character roles, Todorov's Equilibrium - disruption - equilibrium theory (presumably much the same as the aforementioned climax) Levi Strauss' work on binary opposites in narrative and Barthes story codes, the most prominant of which i can remember being enigma and action codes. not sure if thats usefull ut it might look good to drop of few impressive names.