WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Good day! Welcome to the second part of our module. In the previous
module, you were taught on how to distinguish the literary elements of the
particular genre. One of the genres that we took as a sample was a short
story, Karma as popularized by Khushwant Sing. In today’s session you will
be learning another literary genre in a form of fiction in creating reality
through fiction.

For you to be guided, you need to familiarize yourself to our competency

and to our objectives.

HUMSS_CNF11/12-lb-d-5 - Write a draft of a short piece (Fiction, Poetry,

Drama, etc.) using any of the literary conventions of genre following these
pointers:

1. Choosing a topic
2. Formulating thesis statement
3. Organizing and developing ideas
4. Using any literary conventions of genre
5. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

Knowledge: Describe fiction as literary genre

Skills: Write a draft of a short fiction by following some of the important

pointers as choosing a topic, formulating thesis statement,
organizing and developing ideas, using any literary conventions
of genre and ensuring that theme and technique effectively
developed

Attitude: Appreciate the beauty of writing by producing a draft of a piece

following the pointers

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 What I Know

Arrange the jumbled letters below and write in your notebook the name
of the person that is in the puzzle.

“ DANGNAT GNABASY “

So, can you tell the name of the person in the oblong? What do you
think is the name of the person? TANDANG BASYANG. Good job! Does the
name sound familiar? Who do you think Tandang Basyang is? Would you like
to know her?

Long ago, there was an old woman called Gervacia de Guzman. For the
children in her place, they loved to listen to her stories told after a meal. She
was simply called Tandang Basyang.

In the literary hands, Severino Reyes got his pen name as Lola
Basyang from the name of this old woman. In reality, the real Lola Basyang
and Severino Reyes, whose pen name was Lola Basyang, were neighbors in
Manila. More precisely, Reyes was Lola Basyang in the stories that he wrote.
Most of his stories were fantasies and make-believe that would give moral
lessons to the children.

Our lesson has something to do with stories because we will be learning

on one of the literary genres which is fiction.

So, are you ready?

What’s In

I. Below are words or group of words taken from the story below.
Classify the word/s into its proper column to test whether you still
remember our lesson in the previous module. Copy the table and
write only the letter of your answer. Letter a is done for you.

A. My brother Kiko once…

B. early one morning

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 C. Kiko and I
D. My brother claimed it was a rooster. I claimed it was a hen. We almost
got whipped because we argued too much.
E. The story was about the weird chicken which Kiko and his
brother found. They couldn’t tell whether it is a hen or a rooster. ...
So instead, they decide to bring it into the cockpit and make it fight to
a rooster. But during the fight there is a turn of events, things gone
different for what they have expected.
F. It says that we must not judge anything by its outer covering.
Eventhough someone is not totally looking good, it doesn’t 3ecessarily
mean that it is bad. Like in meeting people, we don’t have to choose
the beautiful or the handsome one.
G. First Person point of view – Kiko the owner of peculiar chicken and
the smart guy who had many ideas how he can prove to
his brother that it was a rooster. Second Person point of view –
Youngest Brother of Kiko the one who said that the chicken was
a hen. He is the one narrated the story.

Characters A
Settings
Plot
Conflict
Point of View
Theme

Good job!

II. Direction: Below are words that can be found in the story. Identify
the meaning of the italicized words by writing the letter on your
answer sheet.
1. The animal is peculiar to me. I just see it for the first time.
a. strange b. old c. expensive
2. The bird squawked when it was attacked by another bird.
a. flew away
b. made a loud and harsh noise
c. fought back
3. We tie the chicken to a peg so that it won’t fly away.
a. A piece of bamboo
b. a short cylindrical piece of wood
c. a stone
4. We triumphed because we win the game.
a. achieved victory b. lost victory c. drawn victory

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 5. I quivered when I heard the horror story.
a. cried b. shocked c. trembled

What's New

Read and understand the story below.

My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken, by Alejandro R. Roces

My brother Kiko once had a very peculiar chicken. It was peculiar

because no one could tell whether it was a rooster or a hen. My brother
claimed it was a rooster. I claimed it was a hen. We almost got whipped
because we argued too much.

The whole question began early one morning. Kiko and I were driving
the chickens from the cornfield. The corn had just been planted, and the
chickens were scratching the seeds out for food. Suddenly we heard the rapid
flapping of wings. We turned in the direction of the sound and saw two
chickens fighting in the far end of the field. We could not see the birds clearly
as they were lunging at each other in a whirlwind of feathers and dust.

“Look at that rooster fight!” my brother said, pointing exactly at one of the
chickens. “Why, if I had a rooster like that, I could get rich in the cockpits.”

“Let’s go and catch it,” I suggested.

“No, you stay here. I will go and catch it,” Kiko said.

My brother slowly approached the battling chickens. They were so busy

fighting that they did not notice him. When he got near them, he dived and
caught one of them by the leg. It struggled and squawked. Kiko finally held it
by both wings and it became still. I ran over where he was and took a good
look at the chicken.

“Why, it is a hen,” I said.

“What is the matter with you?” my brother asked. “Is the heat making you
sick?”

“No. Look at its face. It has no comb or wattles.”

“No comb and wattles! Who cares about its comb or wattles? Didn’t you see it
in fight?”

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“Sure, I saw it in fight. But I still say it is a hen.”

“Ahem! Did you ever see a hen with spurs on its legs like these? Or a hen with
a tail like this?”

“I don’t care about its spurs or tail. I tell you it is a hen. Why, look at it.”

The argument went on in the fields the whole morning. At noon we went
to eat lunch. We argued about it on the way home. When we arrived at our
house Kiko tied the chicken to a peg. The chicken flapped its wings and then
crowed.

“There! Did you hear that?” my brother exclaimed triumphantly. “I suppose

you are going to tell me now that hens crow and that carabaos fly.”

“I don’t care if it crows or not,” I said. “That chicken is a hen.”

We went into the house, and the discussion continued during lunch.

“It is not a hen,” Kiko said. “It is a rooster.”

“It is a hen,” I said.

“It is not.”

“It is.”

“Now, now,” Mother interrupted, “how many times must Father tell you, boys,
not to argue during lunch? What is the argument about this time?”

We told Mother, and she went out look at the chicken.

“That chicken,” she said, “is a binabae. It is a rooster that looks like a hen.”

That should have ended the argument. But Father also went out to see the
chicken, and he said, “Have you been drinking again?” Mother asked.

“No,” Father answered.

“Then what makes you say that that is a hen? Have you ever seen a hen with
feathers like that?”

“Listen. I have handled fighting cocks since I was a boy, and you cannot tell
me that that thing is a rooster.”

Before Kiko and I realized what had happened, Father and Mother were
arguing about the chicken by themselves. Soon Mother was crying. She
always cried when she argued with Father.

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“You know very well that that is a rooster,” she said. “You are just being mean
and stubborn.”

“I am sorry,” Father said. “But I know a hen when I see one.”

“I know who can settle this question,” my brother said.

“Who?” I asked.

“The teniente del Barrio, chief of the village.”

The chief was the oldest man in the village. That did not mean that he
was the wisest, but anything always carried more weight if it is said by a man
with gray hair. So, my brother untied the chicken and we took it to the chief.

“Is this a male or a female chicken?” Kiko asked.

“That is a question that should concern only another chicken,” the chief
replied.

“My brother and I happen to have a special interest in this particular chicken.
Please give us an answer. Just say yes or no. Is this a rooster?”

“It does not look like any rooster I have ever seen,” the chief said.

“Is it a hen, then?” I asked.

“It does not look like any hen I have ever seen. No, that could not be a chicken.
I have never seen like that. It must be a bird of some other kind.”

“Oh, what’s the use!” Kiko said, and we walked away.

“Well, what shall we do now?” I said.

“I know that,” my brother said. “Let’s go to town and see Mr. Cruz. He would
know.”

Mr. Eduardo Cruz lived in a nearby town of Katubusan. He had studied

poultry raising in the University of the Philippines. He owned and operated
the largest poultry business in town. We took the chicken to his office.

“Mr. Cruz,” Kiko said, “is this a hen or a rooster?”

Mr. Cruz looked at the bird curiously and then said:

“Hmmm. I don’t know. I couldn’t tell in one look. I have never run across a
chicken like this before.”

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“Well, is there any way you can tell?”

“Why, sure. Look at the feathers on its back. If the feathers are round, then
it’s a hen. If they are pointed, it’s a rooster.”

The three of us examined the feathers closely. It had both.

“Hmmm. Very peculiar,” said Mr. Cruz.

“Is there any other way you can tell?”

“I could kill it and examined its insides.”

“No. I do not want it killed,” my brother said.

I took the rooster in my arms and we walked back to the barrio.

Kiko was silent most of the way. Then he said:

“I know how I can prove to you that this is a rooster.”

“How?” I asked.

“Would you agree that this is a rooster if I make it fight in the cockpit and it
wins?”

“If this hen of yours can beat a gamecock, I will believe anything,” I said.

“All right,” he said. “We’ll take it to the cockpit this Sunday.”

So that Sunday we took the chicken to the cockpit. Kiko looked around for a
suitable opponent. He finally picked a red rooster.

“Don’t match your hen against that red rooster.” I told him. “That red rooster
is not a native chicken. It is from Texas.”

“I don’t care where it came from,” my brother said. “My rooster will kill it.”

“Don’t be a fool,” I said. “That red rooster is a killer. It has killed more chickens
than the fox. There is no rooster in this town that can stand against it. Pick a
lesser rooster.”

My brother would not listen. The match was made, and the birds were
readied for the killing. Sharp steel gaffs were tied to their left legs. Everyone
wanted to bet on the red gamecock.

The fight was brief. Both birds were released in the centre of the arena. They
circled around once and then faced each other. I expected our chicken to die
of fright. Instead, a strange thing happened. A lovesick

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 expression came into the red rooster’s eyes. Then it did a love dance.
That was all our chicken needed. It rushed at the red rooster with its neck
feathers flaring. In one lunge, it buried its spurs into its opponent’s chest. The
fight was over.

“Tiope! Tiope! Fixed fight!” the crowd shouted.

Then a riot broke out. People tore bamboo benches apart and used them
as clubs. My brother and I had to leave through the back way. I had the
chicken under my arm. We ran toward the coconut groves and kept running
till we lost the mob. As soon as we were safe, my brother said:

“Do you believe it is a rooster now?”

“Yes,” I answered.

I was glad the whole argument was over.

Just then the chicken began to quiver. It stood up in my arms and

cackled with laughter. Something warm and round dropped into my hand. It
was an egg.

Check Your Understanding

Label the drawing below. The first one is done for you.

1. --Setting – early in the morning; village

2. -- ________________ -- ________________________________

3. -- _______________ -- _________________________________

4. -- ________________ -- __________________________________

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 What Is It

Did you enjoy the activity? Great!

The story above is an example of fiction. How do you describe fiction?

In fiction, your imagination drive is completely a product of your literary mind.
Artificiality is also the essence of fiction. From the Latin, artificialis, the term
means made by humans and applied to things that are natural, real or not.
In other words, fiction is believable make-believe story.
However, the existing reality can be connected to fiction. Thus, this
introduces to creative nonfiction. In creative nonfiction, real life engages
with your literary mind. What aspect of reality you want to write about
depends entirely upon your decision? People may share the same reality, but
they do not necessarily have the same feeling about or interpretation of that
reality. For instance, some parents would like their children to get a college
degree because they believe that it holds a key to a better future. Some
children may disagree because they think that hard work and determination
is enough for them to have a better future. You became interested in those
two different points of view. After all, you are also about to enter college; will
it really bring you a better future?
In fiction, you can easily invent an entirely different point of view and
entirely different ways of gaining a better future that has nothing to do with
education or had work. In creative nonfiction, you could do the same, but
such story needs facts. From the Latin, factum, fact refers to something that
occurred or happened. Because it happened, we consider it as a thing known
to be true. We know it is true because senses have seen it, tasted it, smelled
it, heard it, or touched it.
In our subject, you are also encouraged to learn an article that is purely
fiction and an article that is fiction in creative nonfiction. Let’s go back to the
article, My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken. If you try to examine, everything that
is written in there happened to our society. Take for example, the setting. The
setting is really existing in our own locality, as the writer made mention of the
cornfield. Do you have a cornfield in your own place? I bet there is! Next, the
writer made mention of the gamecock at the cockpit. It is very clear that
gamecock is very common to us, Filipinos. That almost all men in the entire
Philippines are fascinated with gamecocks and the cock fighting at the
cockpit. Haven’t you observed your uncles, your neighbors or even some
young people today talk about all these things? The truth is, what the writer
writes in his invented story is based and again, considered as nonfiction.
Do you think you can write something by observing on what is existing
in your community? Yes, you can! But writing cannot be learned at the click
of your fingers. You need to learn it and practice it. That is why, this subject,
Creative Nonfiction teaches you how to do so.

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 In writing a fiction, the literary elements should be observed. These are
the setting, characters, plot, point of view, and theme.

What’s More

Before I ask you to write a draft, I want you to consider steps below.
To completely learn on how to write a fiction, let us follow the following
steps:

1. Choosing a topic
Pick a topic that interests you. You are going to live with this
topic for weeks while you write. Choose something that will hold your
interest and that you might even be excited about. Your attitude
towards your topic will come across in your writing or presentation!
2. Formulating a thesis statement
A thesis statement focuses your ideas into one or two sentences.
It should present the topic of your story and also make a comment
about your position in relation to the topic. Your thesis
statement should tell your reader what the story is about and also help
guide your writing and keep it focused.
3. Organizing and developing ideas
When you created the outline, you wrote a thesis statement, and
you also wrote all the claims you will be using to support it. Next is you
organize your story and find the evidence to support each claim. You’ll
be very grateful to have done that sorting now that you’re ready to write
paragraphs. Each of these claims will become a topic sentence, and that
sentence, along with the evidence supporting it, will become a
paragraph in the body of the paper.
How do writers develop ideas for writing? Writers use many
techniques, and it’s a bet that most of the techniques involve writing
itself.
4. Using any literary conventions of genre
Each genre has its own literary conventions. In this lesson, since we
focus fiction, the following are:
a. Chronological
The story is told in the order that the events actually happened
b. Non-Chronological
The order of events of a story not told in time order
c. Denouement
The resolution to the plot of a piece of work
d. Flashback
A scene that takes place prior to the time of the current story
e. Flash Forward
A scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current
point of the story

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 f. Pastiche
A literary piece that imitates another literary work from another
writer
g. Foreshadowing
Hints in a story of what is going to happen to the plot or a
character
h. Allegory
A symbolic narrative in which the surface details (the story) imply
a second meaning
i. Frame Narrative
A literary technique in which a story or set of stories are included
within the framework of a larger story
5. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed
As a novice writer, you should know what a theme is. A theme in
a story is its underlying message, or “big idea.” How does a writer
develop the theme? It really comes down to what the writer believes
about life. If a writer has a belief system or feels strongly about certain
things - and most people do - then, those strong life views will be
reflected in his/her writing.

How are you going to develop the theme?

a. Understand that a theme topic is NOT a theme statement.

Examples of theme topics: Love, justice/injustice, family, struggle
Examples of themes: People risk their own identity to find love;
Power corrupts humanity; Without empathy, there can be no justice.

b. Create a list of theme topics that can be supported with evidence

from the text and choose ONE topic that is best demonstrated by the
text.

c. Write a sentence about what the author believes about that topic.
Example: In Finding Nemo, the author believes that a person should
learn how to trust themselves and others.

d. Cross out “the author believes that” and revise the sentence.
Example: In Finding Nemo, the author believes that a person should
learn how to trust themselves and others.
Theme Statement: A person should learn how to trust themselves
and others.

On the other hand, a writing technique is a style an author or

writer uses to convey their message in a manner that is effective and
meaningful to their audience. So, as a writer, you need to exert your
own way of conveying your message to the reader. A few suggestions by
Henry Herz are:

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Invoke multiple senses – immerse your readers in the story by describing
sounds, scents, tastes and sensations.
 Create intriguing, complex characters – readers
like it when they can sympathize with the characters; they
would like to learn more about the characters – their inner
thoughts, what ticks them, what makes them happy and
many other details about the characters that will tell the
readers about the former’s experience in the story.
 Evoke strong emotions – sometimes along the course of
the story, new revelations about characters or situations
will keep the readers on the edge of their seats. Keep them
engrossed by making them curious about what’s going to
happen in the future.
 Use rich character voice – the narrator’s voice that sets
the tone will have an intense impact on how the readers
will interpret the story and view the character. However, as
you write in the point-of-view of your character, make sure
that it also has its distinct voice. Voice is a tool that shall
make the readers appreciate more the characters.
 Pull the reader into action – this pertains to “writing
gripping action scenes”. “A well-written action scene
thrusts the reader smack into the middle of the story.”
Every reader would like to be able to “experience” what
their favourite characters experience; every reader wants to
be taken into the action, into every scene, into every place.
This will make their reading experience worthwhile.

If you want to see precise examples of the above techniques,

please visit this site https://thewritelife.com/5-powerful-writing-
techniques/. It will be very helpful.

After applying all these steps, you may also evaluate your work.

These are the bases on how to evaluate your draft.

1. Clarity of idea
Clarity means making your content easy to understand. Going
back to the story, was the idea clear?
2. Appropriate choice of literary element
Literary devices are various elements and techniques used in
writing that construct the whole of your literature to create an intended
perception of the writing for the reader. Did the writer have the
appropriate choice in writing the story?
3. Appropriate use of the element
A story has five basic but important elements. These five
components are: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and
the resolution. These essential elements keep the story running
smoothly and allow the action to develop in a logical way that the reader
can follow. Did the writer have the appropriate use in writing story?
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 4. Effective combination of the idea and the chosen literary element

A story must have the effective combination of elements so that

it will be easily understood. Did the writer effectively combine the
elements that allowed thorough understanding of the story?

Okay, you made it!

Are you ready to practice? Before I want you to come up with your own
story, I want you first to practice writing a draft on the story that we have
read,

Go back to the story, My Brother’s Peculiar Chicken. Write a draft of

your summary based on what you have understood. Write it in your
notebook.

What I Have Learned

1. I have learned that ________________________________________.

2. I have realized that ________________________________________.
3. I will apply _______________________________________________.

What I Can Do

Activity: From Fact to Fiction: A Writing Exercise

Let’s get you started with a writing exercise that will make you experience
turning fact into fiction. Write your article of this activity in your notebook.
1. Recall what has happened to you in the past week. This may include
emotions, some passing thoughts, situations, or people. Recall as many
as you can.

2. List down five of those recollections that you think can be developed
into a story.

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 Assessment

This time, I want you to go back to the activity From Fact to Fiction: A
Writing Exercise. I want you to write a draft of your own experience by
combining on what you have written above. This time, it should be based on
your own experience or observation. From that experience or observation, try
to develop a story. Write your own story in your notebook.

Title

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___________________________________________________________________________
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Rubrics in Writing a Short Fiction

5 4 3 2
Overall Structurally Structurally Structurally Structurally
Presentation excellent, good, fair, poor,
paragraphs are paragraphs are paragraphs are paragraphs are
written neatly written clearly not written confusing.
and clearly. but not neatly. clearly and
neatly.
Creativity and Paragraphs are Paragraphs are Paragraphs are Paragraphs are
Use of Literary using creative using little of using little of not using
Conventions languages and the creative the creative creative
are applying languages and languages and languages and
the literary are applying are not are not
conventions. little of the applying the applying the
literary literary literary
conventions. conventions. conventions.
Character Characters in Characters in Characters in Characters are
Development the story are the story are the story are not described.
described in described in not clearly
detail which little details. described and
include are not so
physical figurative.
appearance,
way of
thinking,
feeling and
actions.
Plot The paragraphs The paragraphs The paragraphs The paragraphs
follow a follow a need to be do not follow a
sequence. sequence but improved. sequence.
some of the
components are
not clearly
stated.
Conflict The conflict is The conflict is The conflict is There is no
clearly stated in stated in the not clearly conflict in the
the story and is story and not stated and not story.
relevant in the so relevant in so relevant in
development of the the
the plot. development of development of
the plot. the plot.
Grammar Paragraphs Paragraphs Paragraphs Paragraphs
have no have 1-5 errors. have 6-10 have 11 above
grammatical errors. errors.
errors.

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 Additional Activities

1. How do you describe fiction?

2. When can a fiction story become creative nonfiction?

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