Elements of Narratives

Philippine Literature
Understanding The 7 Key Elements of A
Narrative
Writing is hard. In a market where publishers and editors are critical of
every story or poem, understanding the seven key elements of a
narrative is more important than ever before. Regardless of your
chosen genre of expertise, mastering these key narrative elements will
help to make you a more successful writer.
Plot:
• Did you just take a big sigh? The thought of crafting a worthy and
unpredictable plot is daunting. An understanding of plot and the impact
it has on your story is an essential part of crafting a compelling
narrative.
• The plot is thought of as the sequence of events in your narrative. The
plot includes background information, conflict, the climax of the story,
and lastly, the conclusion.
• Many writers use the plot to map out their stories before beginning the
full writing process. For fiction or non-fiction writing, this can work
wonderfully as an outline. On a smaller scale, poets can use the concept
of plot to plan the flow of their poems.
ELEMENTS OF PLOT
• The plot of a story must include the following elements:
• Causation: one event causes another, and that cause-and-effect
unleashes a whole chain of plot points which formulate the story.
• Characters: stories are about people, so a plot must introduce the main
players of the plot.
• Conflict: a plot must involve people with competing interests or
internal conflicts, because without conflict, there is no story or themes.
• Combining these elements of plot creates the structure of the story
itself. Let’s take a look at those plot structures now, because there are
many different ways to organize the story’s events.
PLOT STRUCTURES: ARISTOTLE’S
STORY TRIANGLE
• The oldest recorded discussion of plot structures comes from
Aristotle’s Poetics (circa 335 B.C.). In Poetics, Aristotle represents the plot of a
story as a narrative triangle, suggesting that stories provide linear narratives
that resolve certain conflicts in three parts: a beginning, middle, and end.
• To Aristotle, the beginning should exist independent of any prior events: it
should be a self-sustaining unit of the story without prompting the reader to
ask “why?” or “how?” The middle should be a logical continuation of the events
from the beginning, expanding upon the story’s conflicts and tragedies. Finally,
the end should provide a neat resolution, without suggesting further events.
• Obviously, many stories complicate this basic plot triangle, and it lacks some of
the finer details of plot structure. One way that Aristotle has been developed
further is through Freytag’s Pyramid.
PLOT STRUCTURES: FREYTAG’S
PYRAMID
• Freytag’s Pyramid builds upon Aristotle’s Poetics by expanding the structural elements of
plot. This pyramid consists of five discrete parts:
• Exposition: The beginning of the story, introducing main characters, settings, themes,
and the author’s own style.
• Rising Action: This begins after the inciting incident, which is the event that kicks off the
story’s main conflict. Rising Action follows the cause-and-effect plot points once the main
conflict is established.
• Climax: The moment in which the story’s conflict peaks, and we learn the fate of the
main characters.
• Falling Action: The main characters react to and contend with the Climax, processing
what it means for their lives and futures.
• Denouement: The end of the story, wrapping up any loose ends that haven’t been
wrapped up in the Falling Action. Some Denouements are open ended.
PLOT STRUCTURES: NIGEL WATTS’ 8
POINT ARC
• A further expansion of Freytag’s Pyramid, the 8 Point Arc is Nigel Watts’ contribution to the study of narratology.
Watts contends that a story must pass through 8 discrete plot points:
• Stasis: The everyday life of the protagonist, which becomes disrupted by the story’s inciting incident, or “trigger.”
• Trigger: Something beyond the protagonist’s control sets the story’s conflict in motion.
• The quest: Akin to the rising action, the quest is the protagonist’s journey to contend with the story’s conflict.
• Surprise: Unexpected but plausible moments during the quest that complicate the protagonist’s journey. A surprise
might be an obstacle, complication, confusion, or internal flaw that the protagonist didn’t predict.
• Critical choice: Eventually, the protagonist must make a complicated, life-altering decision. This decision will reveal
the protagonist’s true character, and it will also radically alter the events of the story.
• Climax: The result of the protagonist’s critical choice, the climax determines the consequences of that choice. It is
the apex of tension in the story.
• Reversal: This is the protagonist’s reaction to the climax. Reversal should alter the protagonist’s status, whether
that status is their place in society, their outlook on life, or their own death.
• Resolution: The return to a new stasis, in which a new life goes forth from the ashes of the story’s conflict and
climax.
• If the plot of a story passes through each of these moments in order, the author has built a complete narrative.
PLOT STRUCTURES: SAVE THE CAT
• The Save the Cat plot structure was developed by screenwriter Blake
Snyder. Although it primarily deals with screenplays, it maps out story
structure in such a detailed way that its many elements can be
incorporated into all types of stories.
PLOT STRUCTURES: THE HERO’S
JOURNEY
• The Hero’s Journey is a plot structure originally crafted by Joseph Campbell.
Campbell argued that the plot of a story has three main acts, with each act
corresponding to the necessary journey a hero must undergo in order to be
the hero.
• Those three parts are: Stage 1) The Departure Act (the hero leaves their
everyday life); Stage 2) The Initiation Act (the hero undergoes various conflicts
in an unknown land); and Stage 3) The Return Act (the hero returns, radically
altered, to their original home).
• In his screenwriting textbook The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler expands
these three stages into a 12 step process. To Vogler, the hero’s journey must
pass through these parts:
•.
The Departure Act
• The Ordinary World: We meet our hero in their mundane, everyday
reality.
• Call to Adventure: The hero is confronted with a challenge which, if
they accept it, forces them to leave their ordinary world.
• Refusing the Call: Recognizing the dangers of adventure, the hero
will, if not reject the call, at least demure or hesitate while
considering the many probable ways it will go wrong.
• Meeting the Mentor: The hero decides to go on the adventure, but
they are much too inexperienced to survive. A mentor accompanies
the hero to help them be smart and strong enough for the journey.
The Initiation Act
• Crossing the Threshold: By leaving for their adventure, the hero crosses a liminal threshold.
They cannot go back, and if they return home, they won’t return the same.
• Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero enters a strange new world, with unfamiliar rules and
dangers. They also encounter allies and enemies that broaden and complicate the story’s
conflicts.
• Approach (to the Inmost Cave): The “inmost cave” is the locus of the journey’s worst dangers
—think of the dragon’s lair in Beowulf or the White Witch’s castle in The Chronicles of Narnia.
The hero is approaching this cave, though must locate it and build strength.
• Ordeal: This is the hero’s biggest test (thus far). Sometimes the climax (but not always), the
ordeal forces the hero to face their biggest fears, and it often occurs when the hero receives
unexpected news. This is a low point for the hero.
• Reward: The hero receives whatever reward they gain from their ordeal, whether that reward
is a material possession, greater knowledge, someone’s freedom, or the resolution of the
hero’s internal conflict.
The Return Act
• The Road Back: The hero ventures back home, though their newfound
reward raises additional dangers, many of which stem from the Inmost
Cave.
• Resurrection: The main antagonist returns for one final fight against the
hero. This is a test of whether the hero has truly learned their lesson and
undergone significant character development; it is also the other climax of
the story. The hero comes closest to death here (if they don’t actually die).
• The Return: The elixir is whatever reward the hero accrued, whether that
be knowledge or material wealth. Regardless, the hero returns home a
changed person, and their return home highlights the many ways in which
the hero has changed—both for better and worse
PLOT STRUCTURES: FICHTEAN CURVE
• The Fichtean Curve was originally crafted for pulp and mystery stories,
though it can certainly apply to stories in other genres. Described
extensively by John Gardner in The Art of Fiction, the Fichtean Curve
argues that a story plot has three parts: a rising action, a climax, and a
falling action.
• In the Fichtean Curve, the rising action comprises about ⅔ of the entire
story. Moreover, the rising action isn’t linear. Rather, a series of
escalating and de-escalating conflicts slowly pushes the story towards
its climax.
ARISTOTLE’S PLOT DEVICES
• In Poetics, Aristotle describes three plot devices which are essential to most stories. These are:
• 1. ANAGNORISIS (RECOGNITION)
• Luke, I am your father! Anagnorisis is the moment in which the protagonist goes from ignorance to
knowledge. Often preceding the story’s climax, anagnorisis is the key piece of information that propels the
protagonist into resolving the story’s conflict.
• 2. PATHOS (SUFFERING)
• Aristotle defines pathos as “a destructive or painful action.” This can be physical pain, such as death or
severe wounds, but it can also be an emotional or existential pain. Regardless, Aristotle contends that all
stories confront extreme pain, and that this pain is essential for the propulsion of the plot. (This is different
from the rhetorical device “pathos,” in which a rhetorician seeks to appeal to the audience’s emotions.)
• 3. PERIPETEIA (REVERSAL)
• A peripeteia is a moment in which bad fortunes change to good, or good fortunes change to bad. In other
words, this is a reversal of the situation. Often accompanied by anagnorisis, peripeteia is often the
outcome of the story’s climax, since the climax decides whether the protagonist’s story ends in comedy or
tragedy.
PLOT DEVICES FOR STORY
STRUCTURE
• The plot of a story will gain structure from the use of these devices.
• BACKSTORY
• Backstory refers to important moments that have occurred prior to the main story. They happen before the story’s
exposition, and while they sometimes change the direction of the story, they more often provide historical
parallels and key bits of characterization. Sometimes, a story will refer to its own backstory via flashback.
• DEUS EX MACHINA
• A deus ex machina occurs when the protagonist’s fate is changed due to circumstances outside of their control.
The Gods may intervene, the antagonist may suddenly perish, or the story’s conflict resolves itself. Generally, deus
ex machina is viewed as a “cop out” that prevents the protagonist from experiencing the full growth necessary to
complete their journey. However, this risky device may pay off, especially in works of comedy or absurdism.
• IN MEDIA RES
• From the Latin “in the middle of things,” a story is “in media res” when it starts in the middle. On Page 1, word 1,
the story starts somewhere in the middle of the rising action, hooking the reader in despite the lack of context.
Eventually, the story will properly introduce the characters and take us to the beginning of the conflict, but “in
media res” is one way to generate immediate interest in the story.
PLOT VOUCHER
• A plot voucher is something that is given to the protagonist for later
use, except the protagonist doesn’t know yet that they will use it.
That “something” might be an item, a piece of information, or even a
future allegiance with another person. Many times, a plot voucher is
bequeathed before the story’s conflict properly takes shape. For
example, in the Harry Potter series, the Resurrection Stone is hidden
in Harry’s first golden snitch, making the snitch a plot voucher.
PLOT DEVICES FOR COMPLICATING
THE STORY
• What is the plot of a story, if not complicated? These plot devices bring your readers in for a wild ride.
• CLIFFHANGER
• A cliffhanger occurs when the story ends before the climax is resolved. Specifically, the story ends mid-climax so that the reader
experiences the height of the story’s tension, but doesn’t see the outcome of the climax and the fate of the protagonist or conflict.
Cliffhangers will generally occur when the story is part of a series, though it can also have literary merit. In
One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade ends her stories on cliffhangers so that the king keeps postponing her execution.
• MACGUFFIN
• A MacGuffin is a plot device in which the protagonist’s main desire lacks intrinsic value. In other words, the protagonist desires the
MacGuffin, which causes the story’s conflict, but the MacGuffin itself is actually valueless. Many times, the protagonist doesn’t even
obtain the MacGuffin, because they have learned what lessons they were supposed to learn from the chase. An example is the
falcon statuette in The Maltese Falcon. This statuette is never obtained, but it drives the novel’s many murders and double crossings.
• RED HERRING
• A red herring is a distraction device in which the author misleads the reader (or other characters) with seemingly-relevant details.
(The MacGuffin is a form of red herring.) Red herrings are primarily found in mystery and suspense stories, as they string the reader
down different possibilities while distracting from the truth. Although this plot device can complicate the story and even build
symbolism, it can also fracture the reader’s trust in the author, so writers should use it sparingly and wisely. (This is slightly different
from the logical fallacy “red herring,” in which irrelevant information is used to distract the reader from a faulty argument.)
• For more plot devices and storytelling techniques, take a look at our article The Art of Storytelling.
• 8 TYPES OF PLOT IN LITERATURE
• Certain types of plot recur throughout literature, especially in genre
fiction. These stories build upon the previously mentioned plot
devices, and they have their own tropes and archetypes which the
author must fill to tell a complete story.
• Some, but not all, of the following plots were originally
defined by Christopher Booker in his work The Seven Basic Plots.
(We’ve omitted some of the plots he mentions if they are rarely seen
in contemporary literature.)
• The plot of a story might take the following shapes:
1. PLOT OF A STORY: QUEST
• Often resembling the Hero’s Journey, a quest is a story in which the
protagonist sets out from their homeland in search of something.
They might be searching for treasure, for love, for the truth, for a new
home, or for the solution to a problem. Often accompanied by other
allies, and often embarking on this journey with hesitation, the
protagonist comes back from their quest stronger, smarter, and
irreversibly changed—if they make it back alive.
• Examples of the quest include: The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R.
Tolkien, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Harry Potter Series.
2. PLOT OF A STORY: TRAGEDY
• A tragedy is a story of a well-meaning protagonist who, due to their flaws or
shortcomings, fails to resolve the story’s conflict. (The hero’s tragic flaw is
known as hamartia.) Tragedies often highlight the terrible circumstances
that the protagonist finds themselves in, or the impossible moral quandaries
that they must resolve (but don’t). Readers come to love the tragic hero
both despite and because of their flaws, and their inability to resolve the
conflict often comes as a great moral or personal loss, even resulting in the
protagonist’s death.
• Examples of the tragedy include: Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare, The Great
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Frankenstein by
Mary Shelley, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and Wuthering
Heights by Emily Brontë.
3. PLOT OF A STORY: RAGS TO RICHES
A rags to riches story involves a protagonist who goes from dire poverty
to excessive wealth. In addition to navigating issues of class and
identity, these stories often showcase the protagonist’s inner world as
they adjust to drastically new life circumstances. The plot of a rags to
riches story will follow the protagonist’s relationship to wealth, and the
things that protagonist chases precisely because of that wealth.
• Examples of the rags to riches include: Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens, The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas, and Q & A by
Vikas Swarup.
4. PLOT OF A STORY: STORY WITHIN A
STORY
• The story within a story, also known as an embedded narrative, one of the less-
structured types of plot. Essentially, the author embeds a second story, complete
with its own narrative and conflict, to bolster the progression of the main story.
Embedded narratives often reflect the themes of the main narratives, but they
can also complicate and challenge those themes, providing additional layers of
meaning to the story. This is not to be confused with parallel plot, because the
story within a story is an invention solely for the sake of advancing the main
narrative, whereas a parallel plot has multiple, equally important narratives.
• Examples of the story within a story include: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor
Dostoevsky, Hamlet by Shakespeare, Moby-Dick by Herman
Melville, Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld, and Don Quixote by Miguel de
Cervantes.
5. PLOT OF A STORY: PARALLEL PLOT
• A parallel plot is a story in which two or more concurrent plots are
told side-by-side. Each plot influences the course of the other plot,
even if those stories happen on opposite ends of the world. Every
narrative that occurs in a parallel plot is equally vital to the story as a
whole.
• Examples of parallel plot include: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki
Murakami, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Break the Bodies,
Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks, The Testaments by Margaret
Atwood, and In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.
• 6. PLOT OF A STORY: REBELLION AGAINST “THE ONE”
• A story of rebellion follows a hero who actively resists the oppressive
force of an omnipotent antagonist. Despite working tirelessly to
defeat that antagonist, the protagonist is ill-equipped to do so as a
singular and powerless entity. So, the story often ends with the
protagonist submitting to the antagonist, or else perishing altogether.
• Examples of rebellion against “The One” include: 1984 by George
Orwell, The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins, “Harrison
Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret
Atwood.
7. PLOT OF A STORY: ANTICLIMAX
• The anticlimax is a story that details the falling action after a climax
has already occurred. In other words, the anticlimax does not have a
climax itself: the climax is merely provided as backstory, and the novel
is dedicated to the events of the story’s denouement. This not to be
confused with the plot device anticlimax, which describes a story’s
resolution that is actually incredibly simple.
• Examples of the anticlimax include: The Sound and the Fury by
William Faulkner, Encircling by Carl Frode Tiller, and Oryx & Crake by
Margaret Atwood.
8. PLOT OF A STORY: VOYAGE AND
RETURN
• Stories of voyage and return involve protagonists who journey into
strange worlds. Often, a story of “Quest” is also a story of voyage and
return, but not always. For the protagonist to return home from their
voyage, they must achieve some sort of daring act that resolves the
story’s conflict, such as finding treasure or vanquishing an antagonist.
Both the voyage and the return teaches the protagonist life lessons
and pushes them to make difficult decisions.
• Examples of voyage and return include: The Iliad and the Odyssey by
Homer, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, The Lord of the Flies by William
Golding, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, Candide by Voltaire,
and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
Setting:
• When you're reading and feel like you've been transported to another
universe - that's setting. This element of the narrative is incredibly
important. Setting establishes the time, place, and environment in
which the main characters or narrator operates.
• Crafting a high-quality setting is the difference between a believable
story and one that falls flat.
What Is Setting?
• Setting is the time and place an author chooses for a literary work. A
setting can be a real time period and geographical location or a
fictional world and unfamiliar time period. Setting also includes the
physical landscape, climate, weather, and the societal and cultural
surroundings that serve as a backdrop for the action. Setting is
revealed through the exposition of a story.
5 Elements of Setting in Literature
• 1. Geographic location: A story might be set in a real-life, map able place like a
particular city, state, or country, or it might be set in an imaginary world.
• 2. Physical location: A character’s immediate surroundings, like a room or a temple,
can be important information to highlight.
• 3. Physical environment: A story can be set in the natural world where characters are
affected by weather conditions, climate, and other forces of nature.
• 4. Time period: As a writer, it’s necessary to ask, “When does this story take place?” In
literature, time period can be a historical period but it can also be a season, a time of
day, or time of year.
• 5. Social and cultural environment: The location and time period will dictate the social
and cultural environment in a story. If a short story is set in a high school, there will be
societal norms and trends specific to teenagers. If a story is set in the late 1960s, it
might be set against the cultural backdrop of the Vietnam War.
3 Examples of Setting in Literature
• Authors choose a setting specific to the characters and plot of a story.
Here are three setting examples from literature:
• 1. Harry Potter: In J.K. Rowling’s famous series about a boy who
discovers he is a wizard, Harry Potter attends on Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. Replete with ghosts, floating candles, and
mysterious corridors, this imagined magical world delivers a setting
that supports the storyline and stands in stark contrast to the ordinary
human world.
3 Examples of Setting in Literature
2. Call of the Wild: This classic Jack London story takes the reader to
nineteenth century Yukon territory, a harsh and rugged environment.
The dramatic setting creates the framework for the character arc. The
main character, a domesticated dog named Buck, heeds the call of the
wild and becomes the leader of a pack of wolves.
3 Examples of Setting in Literature
3. Romeo and Juliet: William Shakespeare establishes the setting for his
play in the first lines (“In fair Verona, where we lay our scene”) and
foreshadows the tragedy that will unfold there (“Where civil blood
makes civil hands unclean”).
5 Tips for Choosing a Setting for Your
Story
• 1. Decide if your story needs a specific setting. There are two types of setting
you can choose from: integral setting and backdrop setting. Integral setting is
a specific place and time that plays an important role in the story. An integral
setting dictates other societal elements in a story like language, dress, and
transportation. A backdrop setting is generic—for example, a story that takes
place in an unnamed small town that is not time-specific.
• 2. Decide if your setting is a real or imagined place. As you develop your
story ideas, determine whether the action takes place in the real world or an
imaginary one. If you are writing a novel about the beginning of the California
surf scene, the real world setting will be the Pacific Coast of California. If your
story is science fiction, you’ll likely construct an imaginary environment, a
process known as worldbuilding.
5 Tips for Choosing a Setting for Your
Story
• 3. Find a setting that supports the action. A great story will have a setting
that complements the plot; it supports the development of conflict and
tension from the rising action, through plot points, until the climax and falling
action. Decide what physical locations within your larger setting can enhance
a turning point in your story, or consider what location elevates the drama of
the story’s climax.
• 4. Pick a setting that supports character actions and development. Whether
your story is told from the first person or third person point of view, your
readers will experience the setting through your main character’s experience.
A great setting enhances a character’s motivation and goals, providing the
framework for their quest. As you begin writing, visualize your story in various
places and periods to see which one best supports character development.
5 Tips for Choosing a Setting for Your
Story
5. Research your setting. To create vivid and realistic setting
descriptions, you need to do research. If you’re writing a work of
historical fiction set during World War II—or even if you have a
flashback scene set during another real-life time period—use writing
resources to discover what the world was like back then. This will help
you accurately depict plot events. Use Google to look up first-hand
accounts and images. If possible, visit the location and walk around to
get a complete sensory experience. Jack London spent a year in the
Yukon before writing The Call of the Wild. Use first-hand research to
flesh out the setting using figurative language that engages the reader.
Characters:
• Who are your characters? How do they behave and interact with the
narrative as a whole? How are the protagonists and antagonists the
same? How are they different?
• Characters create your story. Characters are the reason your readers
fall in love. Characters keep you up at night.
• Invest time researching your character's identities, behaviors,
circumstances, and motivations. All of this will help you to create a
world that readers (and you) are invested in whole-heartedly.
Step 1: Identify the Character Type
• The first thing you should do is identify whether you have a dynamic or static
character. This should not take you very long if you have already read the book. If you
are dealing with a static character, you have a character that does not change much
throughout the work. If you have a dynamic character, you have a character that
changes a lot as the work unfolds.
• You may want to look at the individual body paragraph because they will help you
perform a character analysis outline. In many cases, it is easier to analyze a static
character because they will not change over the course of the story. On the other
hand, static characters can still have a lot of nuances in them.
• It can take a long time to analyze a dynamic character because that character changes
during the book or story. If you already have some idea of how the character changes,
you may want to write a character analysis outline. That way, you can fill in the
outline as you go through the rest of the story
Step 2: Determine the Character’s Role in
the Story
Next, you need to identify the primary role of the character. For
example, you may be working with the protagonist. The protagonist is
the main character of the story. For example, if you are reading a story
about medieval knights, the protagonist might be the hero of the story.
They could be the knight in shining armor that saves the day.
Step 2: Determine the Character’s Role in
the Story
• Or, you might be doing a character analysis of the antagonist. The
antagonist is the main villain of the story. For example, if you are
performing a character analysis of the Wicked Witch of the West from
The Wizard of Oz, you are dealing with the story’s main villain.
• You can also perform a character analysis of some of the minor
characters. There is nothing wrong with performing a character
analysis of a supporting character you happen to find interesting.
However, you should write down the character’s primary role you are
analyzing at the top of the page. That way, you will not forget how the
character fits into the rest of the story.
Step 3: Understand the Character’s
Mentionable Actions
• So, now that you have identified the main character and whether they
change throughout the story, it is time to figure out what the
character does. Recognizing the character’s thoughts and actions will
help you fill out the rest of your character analysis.
Step 3: Understand the Character’s
Mentionable Actions
• If you have already read the story, you should have some idea of what the character
does as the story unfolds. You don’t necessarily need to write down each action that the
character takes, but you should identify the main actions over the course of the story.
• If you want to identify the character’s main actions during your character study, there
are a few questions you may want to answer. They include:
• Why do you think your character is the protagonist or antagonist?
• What is the first significant action the character takes in the story?
• Why do you think your character behaves the way they do?
• How do the character’s actions influence the way the story unfolds?
• If you can identify specific moments in the story that answer the questions above, you
should have an easier time figuring out what actions are most important to your
character analysis.
Point of View:
• Who is telling your story and why? Establishing a point of view in your
story or poem is essential. This allows readers to understand the
motivations behind why the story is being told.
• While it can be challenging to craft a consistent point of view,
mastering the narrative will provide your work with the guiding voice
reader's crave.
What is point of view?
• Point of view is the writer’s way of deciding who is telling the story to
whom. Establishing a clear point of view is important because it
dictates how your reader interprets characters, events, and other
important details. There are three kinds of point of view: first person,
second person, and third person.
First-person point of view
• In first-person point of view, the reader accesses the story through
one person. It’s like reading the main character’s diary. You will notice
pronouns like I, me/my, we, us, or our in first-person writing. This
limits the scope of what a reader can know about other characters,
but it is truest to how we live our lives.
There are two ways to write in first person:
• First-person central: The narrator is also the protagonist of the story.
For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is both the main
character and the narrator, meaning this novel is written in first-
person central.
• First-person peripheral: The narrator is telling the story of the
protagonist from close by. One famous example is F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. The story of Gatsby is told not by
Gatsby himself but by a narrator named Nick, a friend and neighbor of
Gatsby’s.
Why write in first person?
• Identification: The reader is discovering information right alongside the
narrator, so they identify more closely with them. First-person writing
creates a feeling of “we’re in this together.”
• Opinion: If your piece is heavily dependent on opinions, then it’s a good
idea to establish whose opinion it is. This can be the fictional opinion of
a character or the opinion of the writer. Either way, using the
pronoun I ensures the opinion won’t be read as fact.
• Intrigue: The limits of a character’s knowledge can play to the
advantage of the writer if you want to create mystery around other
characters. For example, the narrator’s distance from the subject in The
Great Gatsby creates a sense of intrigue about Gatsby.
Second-person point of view
• Second-person point of view uses the pronoun you. This point of view
establishes the reader as the protagonist or main character. It is the
most difficult point of view to maintain in a longer piece of creative
writing. As a writer, you want your reader to be engrossed, engaged,
and enthralled but . . . involved? There is a time and place for second
person, such as nonfiction, advertising, immersive stories, and this
blog post. There are some examples of second-person point of view in
novels, which we’ll explore later in this article. Just know that it’s the
most challenging and least-often-used point of view in fiction.
Why write in second person?
• Uniqueness: It’s unusual to find the second-person point of view in
creative writing. Write in second person for a creative challenge or to
create a novel experience for your reader.
• Space for reflection: By inserting the pronoun you into writing, you’re
addressing the reader directly. This is a useful way to generate space
for their personal contemplation.
Third-person point of view
• In third-person point of view, the narrator has the ability to know
everything. You’ll see the
pronouns he/his, she/her, they/them/their, and it/its in third-person
point of view. This point of view allows for the greatest flexibility and
also creates the most complexity.
There are three ways to write in the third
person:
• Third-person omniscient: The narrator speaks freely about everyone
and everything. There are no limits to the time, space, or character
the narrator can access.
• Third-person limited omniscient (also called third-person close): The
author writes in third person but keeps the thoughts and feelings
limited to one central character. The Harry Potter series is an example
of third-person limited omniscient. The reader has access to scenes
across time and space, but they are only ever in the head of Harry
himself.
There are three ways to write in the third
person:
Third-person objective: The narrator is a neutral entity, relying on
observations of characters rather than getting in their heads. It’s writing
from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. Ernest Hemingway was a master of
third-person objective. Hemingway’s short story “Hills Like White
Elephants” is the most popular example of this rare style in fiction.
Why write in third person?
• Complexity: The possibilities are endless in third-person writing. The
writer is not limited by the thoughts, observations, or movements of a
single character, which gives them the opportunity to build more
complex worlds, plots, and characters.
• Flexibility: Third-person narration is not bordered by time or space, so
the writer can move the story wherever they want to.
• Authoritative narrator: Human beings are inherently biased, so
removing the narrator’s subjectivity can make the writing feel more
authoritative.
How to create point of view
• If you’ve always written your journal in first-person central, you’ve
probably never stopped and asked yourself, Should I write this entry
in first-person central? Your choice is instinctual. More often than not,
the correct point of view is the one that comes most naturally.
However, if you want to be more deliberate with your point of view or
try a new technique, here are some things to consider:
How to create point of view
Look at the genre: Are there any established points of view for the type
of writing you’re doing? Read other examples to find out.
Personal essays are typically written in first person, self-help books tend
to take on second person, and journalism is most often written in third
person. Turn to writing that you admire or want to emulate and see if
you can determine what point of view it is written in.
How to create point of view
• Think about complexity: First person requires you to have a deep
understanding of the narrator, while third person requires knowledge of
all of your characters.
• 3 Establish the point of view immediately: Don’t leave your reader
hanging on for too long. A good rule of thumb is to situate your reader
within the first two paragraphs.
• Trust your gut: Like so much in writing, sometimes you just have to feel
it out! If you’re unsure whether something sounds better in first or third
person, try writing a portion of it both ways. Which one comes more
naturally? Which one feels more forced? Often the point of view that
feels better to write is the one that feels better to read.
Point of view examples
• First person (peripheral)
“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world
to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more
riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only
Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my
reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected
scorn.”
• —The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Fitzgerald’s narrator, the “I” in the example above, is a man named Nick.
Though the central character of the book is Gatsby, the reader learns
Gatsby’s story through the personal perspective of a nearby narrator.
Second person
• “You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, If on a
winter’s night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other
thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the
TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, ‘No, I
don’t want to watch TV!’”
• —If on a winter’s night a traveler, by Italo Calvino
• Calvino was famous for his innovative writing techniques. In this
example from the opening lines of his novel, Calvino is directly
addressing the reader in second person, instructing them how to read
his book.
Third person (objective)
• “The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very
hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for
two minutes and went on to Madrid.
• ‘What should we drink?’ the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
• ‘It’s pretty hot,’ the man said.
• ‘Let’s drink beer.’
• ‘Dos cervezas,’ the man said into the curtain.
• ‘Big ones?’ a woman asked from the doorway.
• ‘Yes. Two big ones.’”
• —“Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway
• This dialogue is told from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. The narrator is not talking about
themself (there is no “I”), and the reader has access to every character’s behaviors equally. It is
purely observational.
Theme:
• The theme of a work should be clear. While this seems like a
fundamental literary element, the theme helps to focus a narrative.
Additionally, having a focused and clear theme will help you and
publishers to market your book to the right audience.
• What lessons are your characters going to learn? At the end of the
story or poem, what is the main takeaway? This is your theme.
6 Common Themes in Literature
• The best literary themes explore human nature on a universal level.
It’s no surprise, then, that multiple books may share the same central
idea. Each of the following popular theme examples reveals the
human condition and offers readers food for thought long after the
story is finished.
Six common themes in literature are:
• 1. Good vs. evil
• 2. Love
• 3. Redemption
• 4. Courage and perseverance
• 5. Coming of age
• 6. Revenge
Literary Theme 1: Good vs. Evil
• The classic battle between light and dark, altruism and antagonism,
the theme of good versus evil stretches beyond even Biblical times. A
story about good triumphing over evil may pit two characters directly
against each other, as in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, or a main
character against society at large, as in Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird.
• In addition, the theme of good versus evil may be explored through
the external actions and dialogue of the characters, or via their
internal struggle to do the right thing when faced with temptation.
Literary Theme 2: Love
• Love is one of the most universal themes in literature, as in life. In fact, the theme of love is underpins
many of the stories we’ve discussed so far. Love can be a force for good that inspires people to sacrifice
themselves for others, or a toxic force that drives people to madness or violence. Different flavors of love
as a literary theme include:
• Forbidden love. Yearning and disapproval collide in forbidden love stories, which often find star-crossed
lovers hurtling towards a tragic fate. Examples include: Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare
and Atonement by Ian McEwan.
• Family love. Stories about the love between parents and children or siblings often explore the costs or
challenges of family loyalty. Examples include: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and My Sister’s
Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
• Unrequited love. The pain of loving someone who does not return your affection is a frequent subject in
literature. Examples include: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest
Hemingway.
• Friendship. The power of friendship to carry people through hard times and change them—whether for
better or worse—is an especially common theme in young adult literature. Examples include: The Body by
Stephen King (adapted into a film, Stand By Me) and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Literary Theme 3: Redemption
• Failures or tragedies set the stage for a sad story, but it doesn’t have
to end this way: in books that employ redemption as a central theme,
characters see the errors of their ways and strive to right the wrongs
they’ve committed, making for an uplifting tale. Stories of redemption
often involve a reformed character sacrificing his or her freedom or
life.
• Examples of stories that explore redemption include A Christmas
Carol by Charles Dickens and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
Literary Theme 5: Coming of Age
• Also known as a bildungsroman, a classic coming-of-age story follows
one or more characters during their journey of growing up into
adulthood. These characters may experience everything from a loss of
innocence, to an awakening or self-awareness before finally reaching
maturity. While coming of age stories are popular in young adult
literature, they’re also common in memoirs.
• Examples of books that employ coming of age as a central theme
include Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Great Expectations by
Charles Dickens, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.
Literary Theme 6: Revenge
• A common plot in literature, the theme of revenge sets up a conflict
between one character and his or her enemies as he or she journeys
to avenge wrongs done to them. A revenge story may depict the trials
a character must endure in order to achieve their vengeance—or,
explore the human cost and moral dilemmas around pursuing
vengeance in the first place
• Examples of stories that use revenge as their central theme
include: The Iliad by Homer, Carrie by Stephen King, The Count of
Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
3 Ways to Create Literary Themes in Your
Writing
• Incorporating a solid literary theme into your work won’t happen by
accident, but it doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult, either. Whether
you’re composing short stories, writing a novel, or working on a
screenplay, incorporate the following literary devices to better convey
the theme of your story. As you layer them in, they should be as
subtle as the theme itself.
1. Put your characters in conflict with one
another.
Most themes center on controversial ideas that are a source of conflict
for human beings. By putting your characters in conflict, you’ll create
more opportunities for actions, choices, and conversations that enable
them, and your readers, to tackle your theme head on.
2. Reinforce your theme with motifs.
A motif is a recurring image or detail that highlights the central ideas in
a story through repetition. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, for
example, Gatsby’s constant, lavish parties emphasize the theme of
excess, materialism, and the pursuit of the American dream. Use motif
to shed additional light on the theme and also give readers a reminder
of its existence.
3. Represent your theme with symbols.
Symbols are objects, characters, or settings that are used to represent
something else (while, again, supporting the theme). A symbol may
appear one time, or be present throughout the story. In The Great
Gatsby, a green light symbolizes Gatsby’s dream for a better life with
Daisy. In the beginning of the book, he reaches toward it; in the end, it
seems unreachable.
What Is a Literary Theme?
• A literary theme is the main idea or underlying meaning a writer
explores in a novel, short story, or other literary work. The theme of a
story can be conveyed using characters, setting, dialogue, plot, or a
combination of all of these elements.
• In simpler stories, the theme may be a moral or message: “Don’t
judge a book by its cover.” In more complex stories, the central theme
is typically a more open-ended exploration of some fundamental
aspect of society or humanity.
Symbolism:
• When studying literature, there is a lot of talk surrounding symbolism.
While this may seem like an over-rated literary element, symbolism
helps to layer meaning within a narrative.
• The green light in The Great Gatsby. Harry's scar in Harry Potter. In
narratives, symbols are what readers hold onto long after the story is
over. Symbolism is what readers gravitate to.
• As opposed to Impressionism, in which the emphasis was on the reality of
the created paint surface itself, Symbolism was both an artistic and a literary
movement that suggested ideas through symbols and emphasized the
meaning behind the forms, lines, shapes, and colors. The works of some of
its proponents exemplify the ending of the tradition of representational art
coming from Classical times. Symbolism can also be seen as being at the
forefront of modernism, in that it developed new and often abstract means
to express psychological truth and the idea that behind the physical world
lay a spiritual reality. Symbolists could take the ineffable, such as dreams and
visions, and give it form.
How to Use Symbolism
In literature, authors have long favored the use of
symbols as a literary device. The importance of symbolism can be seen
in the earliest recorded forms of human storytelling—cave paintings
and hieroglyphics—which are quite literally symbols representing more
complex narratives or beliefs. Symbolism allows writers to express
complex ideas while giving the reader a visual, sensory experience.
What Is Symbolism?
• Symbolism is a literary device wherein words, people, markings,
locations, or abstract ideas represent something beyond their literal
meaning. The use of symbolism is not confined to works of literature;
examples of symbolism appear in every corner of our everyday life.
Road signs, logos, and emojis all employ symbolism, evoking ideas or
moods.
4 Reasons to Use Symbolism in Your
Writing
• Symbolism can elevate writing. Symbols can give words double
meanings, both literal and figurative, and writers can say more with
less. Symbolism can also be a sort of secret language between the
writer and the reader. Specifically, symbolism can be used in the
following ways:
1. Symbols help you show without telling.
Writers use symbolism to convey complex ideas without using a ton of
words. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the mockingbird possesses
the symbolic value of innocence and beauty—a difficult and potentially
verbose concept to express literally. The same goes with the One Ring
from The Lord of the Rings, which symbolizes the corruptive, all-
consuming nature of a quest for absolute power.
2. Symbols connect themes.
Figurative language and symbolism can be as connective thematic
tissue that runs throughout a literary work. The color green is used
throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby as a marker for the
money and materialism that define the life of Jay Gatsby.
3. Symbols add imagery.
Symbols can add a visual element to complex themes. One of the great
symbolists is William Golding, whose novel The Lord of the Flies is
packed with good examples of symbolism as imagery. A conch shell
represents authority and order, a pig’s head symbolizes pure evil, and
an island stands in for the garden of Eden.
4. Symbols hint at darker meanings.
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s daughter Pearl
symbolizes the supposed sin that led to her conception. Pearl’s difficult
demeanor represents the secret at the heart of her existence—that her
father is the prominent reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Only when
Dimmesdale’s paternity is revealed does Pearl transition into a positive
symbol with a different meaning: the freeing spirit of the natural world.
4 Tips for Using Symbolism in Your
Writing
• While the subject matter of literature has varied with the ages, the
definition of symbolism has remained relatively constant: a word or
object representing something beyond its literal meaning. Here’s how
to use symbolism to enrich your own writing:
1. Begin with story and characters.
In your first draft of a novel, short story, play, or other creative writing
endeavor, focus primarily on creating a compelling main character and
placing them in an engaging story. Don’t preoccupy yourself with different
symbols at this stage, lest they become the central focus of your writing.
Once you’ve drafted (or at least outlined) your entire story, look for ways
to insert symbols to represent themes already baked into your narrative.
For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and its follow-up
sequels, Harry’s lightning bolt-shaped scar symbolizes the attempt on his
life by Lord Voldemort and the love that saved him. If you intentionally
craft your literary symbols to service the themes already in your story, you
will make your narrative all the more vivid and meaningful, without
overrunning it with cosmetic detail.
2. Balance small-scale and large-scale
symbolism.
Fiction writers should try to strike a balance between different types of
symbolism. Small-scale symbolism (such as the way a person dresses)
can add texture to a work of literature and help your audience
understand the inner life of your characters. Large-scale symbolism
(such as weather events or physical descriptions of buildings or cities)
can convey an overall mood or can make statements about broad
themes like love, death, and power. The best works of literature
combine both of these elements to imbue their story with thematic
resonance and indelible imagery.
3. Don’t just use common symbols.
There are certain symbolism examples that possess an inherent
meaning based on their shared cultural associations. A red rose, for
instance, generally represents love or passion. A sunrise represents a
new beginning, while a dove may represent peace. Yet some of the best
symbols in literature gain meaning through the plot and point of view
of the story itself. In Animal Farm, different animals symbolize different
political groups in Russian history. Normally, we wouldn’t associate
Joseph Stalin with a pig. However, the brilliance of George Orwell’s
allegory is its ability to create symbols and associations that are unique
to the book.
4. Use symbolism to add emotional
resonance.
Symbols add emotional resonance to a story, which can create a lasting
impression on a reader. For example, in William
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the guilt-ridden Lady Macbeth is tortured by a
spot of blood on her hands that will not wash clean after she kills King
Duncan. In Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, the bird represents the grief
and torment of the memory of deceased loved ones. These works of
English literature gain emotional depth and significance due to the
symbolic meaning contained therein.
Conflict:
• Conflict motivates characters, affects the plot, and ultimately dictates
the theme of a narrative. What is the defining conflict in your story?
What conflict inspired a poem?
• Having a defined conflict allows your readers to better understand
your work, sympathize with your characters or narrator, and
ultimately appreciate the complexity of the plot you've created.
What Is Conflict in Literature?
• In literature, a conflict is a literary device characterized by a struggle
between two opposing forces. Conflict provides crucial tension in any
story and is used to drive the narrative forward. It is often used to
reveal a deeper meaning in a narrative while highlighting characters’
motivations, values, and weaknesses.

• There are six main types of literary conflict, each of which is detailed
below.
Internal vs. External Conflict
• All conflict falls into two categories: internal and external.
• Internal conflict is when a character struggles with their own
opposing desires or beliefs. It happens within them, and it drives their
development as a character.
• External conflict sets a character against something or someone
beyond their control. External forces stand in the way of a character’s
motivations and create tension as the character tries to reach their
goals.
• Including both internal and external conflict is crucial for a good story,
because life always includes both.
How to Create Conflict in Your Writing
• To create conflict for your protagonist, you’ll need forces of antagonism
that work against them. In genre writing, antagonists are usually arch-
villains, but they don’t have to be people—they can be any oppositional
element that thwarts your character’s main desire. In crafting this
conflict, it’s helpful to remember some basic principles of antagonism.
• The stronger the forces of antagonism are, the more well-developed
your character will become.
• The conflict should be tailored to your protagonist’s main desire.
• Antagonism has to increase with time, or you’ll lose the reader’s interest.
The 6 Types of Literary Conflict
Just like it takes two to tango, it also takes two (or more) to create conflict.
What you choose to pit your characters against will have a significant effect
on what kind of story you tell. Many stories contain multiple types of
conflict, but there is usually one that is the main focus.

1. Character vs. Self

This is an internal conflict, meaning that the opposition the character faces
is coming from within. This may entail a struggle to discern what the moral
or “right” choice is, or it may also encompass mental health struggles. All
other types of conflict are external—meaning that a character comes up
against an outside force that creates the conflict.
2. Character vs. Character

This is a common type of conflict in which one character’s needs or

wants are at odds with another’s. A character conflict can be depicted
as a straightforward fist fight, or as intricate and nuanced as the
ongoing struggle for power in the HBO series Game of Thrones.
3. Character vs. Nature
In a nature conflict, a character is set in opposition to nature. This can
mean the weather, the wilderness, or a natural disaster. For example, in
Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, the main character,
Santiago finally manages to reel in a fish after months and months of
bad luck. He fends off sharks, who are trying to steal his prized catch,
but eventually they eat the fish—leaving Santiago with only a carcass.
This is the essence of the man versus nature conflict: man struggles
with human emotions, while nature charges forth undeterred.
4. Character vs. Supernatural
Pitting characters against phenomena like ghosts, gods, or monsters
raises the stakes of a conflict by creating an unequal playing field.
Supernatural conflict also covers characters, like Harry Potter or
Odysseus, who have a fate or destiny and struggle to accept the
sacrifices that come along with it.
5. Character vs. Technology
In this case, a character is in conflict with some kind of technology.
Think of the tale of John Henry, the African American folk hero. In
American folklore, Henry was a former slave who worked as a steel-
driver on the rail line. To prove his superiority over new technology, he
raced a steam-powered rock drilling machine and won. However, he
suffered a heart attack after winning the race.
6. Character vs. Society
A character vs. society conflict is an external conflict that occurs in
literature when the protagonist is placed in opposition with society, the
government, or a cultural tradition or societal norm of some kind.
Characters may be motivated to take action against their society by a
need to survive, a moral sense of right and wrong, or a desire for
happiness, freedom, justice, or love.
Practice Makes Perfect
• Every writer struggles with these narrative elements. Through
reading, exchange with other writers, and practice, you can conquer
the 7 key elements of a narrative. Now that you're inspired, get
writing!
 PLOT-DRIVEN VS. CHARACTER-
A common distinction between different types of fiction is whether the story is “plot driven” or
DRIVEN
“character STORIES
driven.” This refers to whether the plot of a story defines the characters, or whether the
characters define the plot of a story.
Specifically, this distinction is made to differentiate literary fiction vs. genre fiction. Generally, a piece
of literary fiction will have the characters in control of the plot, as the story’s plot points are built
entirely off of the decisions that those characters make and the influences of those characters’
personalities.
Genre fiction, by contract, tends to have predefined plot structures and archetypes, and the characters
must fit into those structures in order to tell a complete story.
While this general distinction helps organize the qualities of fiction, don’t treat them as absolutes.
Literary fiction borrows plot devices from genre fiction all the time, and there are many examples of
genre fiction that are character driven. Your story should build a working relationship between the
characters and the plot, as both are essential elements of the storyteller’s toolkit.
Your story should build a working relationship between the characters and the plot, as both
are essential elements of the storyteller’s toolkit.
PLOT VS. STORY
• Finally, what is the difference between plot vs. story? The two terms
are often used interchangeably, and indeed, something that affects
the plot will usually affect the story. But, the two do not share the
same precise definitions.
Plot definition:
• The story’s series of events. Think of plot as the story’s skeleton: it
defines the What, When, and Where of the story, which allows for
everything else (like characters and themes) to develop. What
happens (and what is the cause-and-effect), when does it happen,
and where is it happening?
Story definition:
The entirety of the work, including its conflicts, themes, and messages.
In addition to plot, the story answers questions of Who, Why, and How.
Who is involved (and who are they psychologically), why does this
conflict happen, and how do the characters resolve the conflict?
PLOT VS. STORY VENN DIAGRAM
The differences between plot vs. story are summarized in the following Venn Diagram.