MODULE 2 Classic and Contemporary Fiction

Rationale
I. Introduction

Works in the 21st century include several and different literary genres and one of the
common genres is fiction. A work of fiction is created in the imagination of its author. The
author invents the story and makes up the characters, the plot or storyline, the dialogue and
sometimes even the setting. A fictional work does not claim to tell a true story. Instead, it
immerses us in experiences that we may never have in real life, introduces us to types of
people we may never otherwise meet and takes us to places we may never visit in any other
way. Fiction can inspire us, intrigue us, scare us and engage us in new ideas. It can help us
see ourselves and our world in new and interesting ways. Fiction as well can convey deep
truths and resonate with readers from all walks of life.

This module provides various activities and discussions for you to:

 compare and contrast the various 21st century literary genres and their elements,
structures and traditions from across the globe; and
 take to heart these aspects and develop a genuine love for world literature.

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III.Lesson Proper

Below are some discussions, which will help you familiarize yourself with fiction and flash
fiction including their elements, structures, and other relevant information.
What Is Fiction?

Fiction is make-believe, invented stories. They may be short stories, fables, vignettes, plays,
novellas, or novels. Although writers may base a character on people they have met in real
life, the characters, and the experiences that the character faces in the story are not real.

ELEMENTS OF FICTION
The six major elements of fiction are character, plot, point of view, setting, style, and theme.

1. Character -- A figure in a literary work (personality, gender, age, etc). E. M. Forester makes a
distinction between flat and round characters. Flat characters are types or caricatures defined by a
single idea of quality, whereas round characters have the three-dimensional complexity of
real people.
2. Plot –- the major events that move the action in a narrative. It is the sequence of major events
in a story, usually in a cause-effect relation.
3. Point of View -- the vantage point from which a narrative is told. A narrative is typically told
from a first-person or third-person point of view. In a narrative told from a first-person perspective,
the author tells the story through a character who refers to himself or herself as "I." Third –person
narratives come in two types: omniscient and limited. An author taking an omniscient point of view
assumes the vantage point of an all-knowing narrator able not only to recount the action thoroughly
and reliably but also to enter the mind of any character in the work or any time in order to reveal
his or her thoughts, feelings, and beliefs directly to the reader. An author using the limited point of
view recounts the story through the eyes of a single character (or occasionally more than one, but
not all or the narrator would be an omniscient
narrator).
4. Setting –- Refers to the place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general
background for the characters and plot of a literary work. The general setting of a work may differ
from the specific setting of an individual scene or event.
5.Style -- The author’s type of diction (choice of words), syntax (arrangement of words), and
other linguistic features of a work.

6. Theme(s) -- The central and dominating idea (or ideas) in a literary work. The term also
indicates a message or moral implicit in any work of art.

Source: https://web.csulb.edu/~yamadaty/EleFic.html

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Other than the classical way of writing fictional stories, we now have other forms, which are
still considered as stories. One of which is flash fiction.

What Is Flash Fiction?

Flash fiction is a genre of fiction, defined as a very short story. While there is no set
word count that separates flash fiction from more traditional short stories, flash fiction stories
can be as short as a few words (while short stories typically run for several pages).

As a general rule, flash fiction is considered to be less than 1,000 words long.

3 Characteristics of Flash Fiction

Flash fiction stories share a number of common characteristics.

Brevity. Flash fiction compresses an entire story into the space of a few paragraphs. There
is no defined word count for flash fiction, but some commonly used word limits in flash
fiction range from just six words on the short end to around 1,000 words on the longer end.

A complete plot. A flash fiction story is indeed a story, with a beginning, middle, and end.

Surprise. Great flash fiction often incorporates surprise, usually in the form of a twist
ending or an unexpected last line. This is not a gimmick: the aim is to prompt the reader to
think deeply about the true meaning of the story.

ELEMENTS OF FLASH FICTION

1. A plot. To be clear, a flash fiction piece is a complete story. Just like a longer piece of
fiction, your flash piece needs a beginning, a middle, and an ending. I saw one website that
recommended writing an outline for each flash story. I think that’s going a little overboard;
your outline could end up longer than the story. But if your story doesn’t have an ending – if,
say, you find you’ve written a scene that could be part of a longer story, or even part of a
novel – then it’s not technically flash fiction.

2. Characters. You don’t have a lot of space to describe your characters, obviously, but
readers should still be able to tell them apart. Use telling details that you can describe in a
few words. Keep your character count low and stick with one point-of-view.

3. A hook. A flash story should start with a compelling scene and keep going. Just as in any
other type of story, you need to include some kind of conflict – an internal or external (or
both) challenge that your characters have to meet.

4. A slam-bang finish. A lot of successful flash pieces employ a twist at the end. Think of
structuring your story as you would a joke; although your ending doesn’t need to be funny, it
ought to be something that the reader didn’t see coming.

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Activity 1: Read the two texts and do the task that follows.
A

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B Maddie's Family Reunion

by LIZ Elias

It was a lemonade-on-the-porch-swing kind of day in the quiet rural town. No clouds

filtered the sun, and only a timid breeze tickled the ears of the pussy willows along the stream
bank. Maddie Stevenson sighed a contented sigh as she sat, gently swinging and enjoying
her drink.

She thought back to the family reunion. So many grandchildren, cousins, nieces and
nephews! It was great to see them all together. She drifted into sweet reverie. There was
Grandpa Jones, celebrating his hundred and second birthday, and as spry as ever. She
spoke at length with her sister, Rosalee, reminiscing about their hijinks as children.

Around the grounds she walked, sampling all the delicious goodies everyone had
brought. Her eldest granddaughter, just recently graduated from college, had come with her
boyfriend, but the whispers were that he was really her fiancé. 2

Maddie always enjoyed her visits with Maybelle Tibbins. She was such a longtime
friend of the family that she practically was family, always there to help in times of need.
Maddie asked her about the latest hat she wore; Maybelle had a weak spot for new hats. This
one was gaily decorated with bright flowers on green straw and tied with a bow under the
chin. Maybelle said, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it, but this darling chapeau was sadly tossed
aside in a corner at the second-hand store! I just had to rescue it! It looks like it’s brand-new,
doesn’t it?” Maddie agreed, and made little sounds to echo her surprise that such a darling hat
would be almost in the trash bin.

As she ate a piece of birthday cake, she was surrounded by the youngest members of the
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8
clan, all eager for one of her stories of the old days. She finished her cake and launched into
one of the favorite tales.

“It was a day much like this, only school was in session as it wasn’t quite summer
vacation time yet. All the girls were wearing summer-weight frocks, you know, because it
was such a nice warm day.”

Maddie paused, knowing the suspense would prompt one of the grandchildren to demand
more details.

“Was it after school, then?” asked little May Alder, the youngest of the group
surrounding Maddie.

“Yes, it was,” Maddie continued. “The class had just let out; we were all in one
classroom in those days, so all the grades were together. As we started our walk home, which
was about two miles, we chatted about the lessons, and about what we were going to be doing
during summer. It wasn’t really a vacation back then of course. We were expected to help
with family chores. The girls cooked and cleaned, and the boys helped in the fields. Our
family had just planted this apple orchard five years prior, and we were looking forward to
our first really good harvest.”

“But what about what you did after school?” Interrupted May's brother, Billy, who had
heard the story before and realized that Great Grandma Maddie had gone off track.

“Oh, yes, after school. Well, there we were, Sally Middleford and I, along with Rebekah
Jenkins, all minding our own business, walking, talking, and laughing. All of a sudden, we
noticed some boys behind us, laughing and being very noisy. It wasn’t a nice laugh; they
were up to something, for sure.”

“What happened? What did they do?” Prompted Billy.

Well sir, those naughty boys had found a wasp nest, and pulled it down from a tree with
some sticks. The next thing we knew, they threw the thing at our heels! Oh, my, the awful
sound of those buzzing, angry wasps, I shall never forget! We heard those boys laughing
uproariously as we screamed and ran down the road as fast as our ten-year-old legs could
carry us! Those wasps, though, could fly pretty fast, and a number of them caught up with
us, and we all got stung.”

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Activity 2 : Making Stories

Refer to the stories in Activity 3. One is fiction and the other one is flash fiction. Now, let’s
try to examine both and see how they are similar or different from each other. Fill up the
table on your answer sheet.

Points of Comparison Baby Shoes Maddie’s Family

Reunion

Are there characters?

Can you infer who

they are?

Is there conflict in the

text?

Can you tell what it is?

What do you notice about

the plot?

Is it complete?

Can you write down the

sequence of major events
in the story?

Does it have a theme?

What is it?

How is the story

Presented?

What do you notice about

the number of words used
to tell the story?

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 Generalization

Activity 3: You are almost done with your learning journey. Based on what you have
learned, answer the following:

1. What are your observations about fiction and the many other emerging types of stories
under it?
2. What do you think about fiction and flash fiction? Do you prefer one over the other?
Why or why not?

IV. Activity
Assessment
4: This and That Story

Based on what you have learned, can you try to compare and contrast fiction and flash
fiction based on their elements, structure and tradition? Pick words from the box to fill out
the Venn Diagram below. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

Elements Structure Tradition

Plot Complete plot Characters and

experiences that the
Characters Brief
character faces in the story
Conflict Cause-effect relation are not real

Setting

Flash
Fiction
Fiction

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lot Complete plo