Elements of Fiction Writing

1. 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦

Every good story has characters that readers can feel. Characters are doorways through which readers live your story. In writing your fiction, you have to carefully carve out three dimensional characters with unique personalities.

These characters must go through changes throughout the story. These changes will be as a result of the actions they take and the consequences of those actions. Just like in real life, the decisions we make everyday shape our future. It’s not different in fiction writing.

You have to make your characters come alive by giving them names, likes, dislikes, hubbies, goals, history, etc. You have to know everything about the character you are writing about. The characteristics you give to them will determine how they react to things that happen to them.

You develop your characters by setting goals for them. What’s important to them? What are they trying to achieve all their lives? Your main character has to have something he is pursuing.

There are different types of characters in every story. Two important characters are the protagonist and the antagonist. Apart from these, the rest are secondary characters that support the aforementioned characters.

The Protagonist & Antagonist

Your protagonist is the hero of the story. Don’t make him flawless. Human beings are not flawless. Remember you are trying to make your characters as real as possible. He can make stupid decisions that will make him go through difficulties. What’s important is how he grows through everything. He might not come out as a winner, but he will learn from his experience. This is called a character arc.

Your antagonist should effectively and convincingly oppose your protagonist. This character should be at a position where his own motive for opposing your protagonist is believable or even relatable. There should be no easy way to separate your antagonist from the strife of your main character. Important story points where these two clash, should force your protagonist to either develop, evolve or get creative. Remember this is a two-sided equation, because your villain should be affected by these interactions equally.

If your characters are unique, they will excite your readers whenever they resurface in the book. Give each character something peculiar to them, something that leaves their trademark in the book.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪

In writing a story, you must decide what voice you want to use to tell the story. You can use the voice of someone in the story to narrate events, or you can decide to tell it from an omniscient point of view.

𝗮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄:

Here, you tell the story from a character’s intimate perspective. The narrator is a participant in the story. He tells the story using first person pronouns ( I and we) . This point of view provides intimacy between the character and the reader. He draws the reader closer to the events in the story, but this point of view is limited to the character’s perspective. Don’t have the character knowing what other characters are thinking; they should be able to show how they react to events and the reader should have firsthand knowledge on how these events affect this character.

Because this character is only bound to say what he has experienced, the information he can give out about the story is limited. He can’t tell the story from different angles. Also, because the narrator will not know what other people in the story might be doing or saying or even thinking, his perspective can also be biased.

𝗯. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄:

This is also called the omniscient point of view. The author narrates the story using the third person pronouns (he, she, them). He knows more than the characters in the book. He knows everything in the story — what happened in the past and even future events. The disadvantage of using this point of view is that the reader will not feel so much connection to the story, as he would with the first person narrative technique. The reader also sees the story as an outsider. There is no personal bond between himself and the characters.

𝗰. 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄:

Here, you speak directly to your readers using the second person pronoun (you). This narrative technique can also create intimacy with the reader. This point of view is not very popular. It’s difficult to develop other characters with this point of view. It is also hard to build subplots in the story. There are very few books written in the second person. It will take a lot of work to write a full length novel using this point of view.

3. 𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚

This has to do with the geographical location and the time your story takes place. Do research to figure out the intricacies of the environment: the seasons, the sounds, the smells, etc. What about the environment is important to any of your characters? Whether positively or negatively, remember to actively use this ingredient. If you are describing something, make sure there is something unique about what you are describing. If you are describing a desert, everyone basically knows what a desert looks like. The way your characters interact with the environment is what’s important. What’s your character’s perception of the environment? If they’re stuck in the desert, what’s their gameplan to survive or escape the environment? If it’s their hometown, what about it sticks? What about their environment is present and important in their day to day? Or important to their memories? Etc.

The time of setting might have to do with the time of the day, the season of the year, a time in history, etc.

𝟰. 𝗦𝗧𝗬𝗟𝗘

A writer’s style is the unique way a writer chooses words and constructs sentences. You may choose to write with short sentences and simple words or do the opposite. The way you use literary devices such as imagery, metaphors, symbolism, etc, in your book, also defines your style.

The tone you write with adds to your style. Tone is the writer’s attitude towards his work. How do you sound in your book, sarcastic? Humorous? This could be because you are writing from a character’s perspective. As a good rule of thumb, you should attribute these traits to characters where appropriate.

𝟱. 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗧

This is a very important element in fiction writing. It is a disagreement between two or more opposing forces. When you create a conflict from the beginning of the story, your reader will be eager to know how the conflict is resolved, and therefore will keep reading to the end.

Conflict helps you to develop your characters. When certain people are faced with opposition, their traits are brought to the fore. How each character reacts to situations helps the reader to know about their hidden personality. Without conflict, you will not be able to build a three dimensional character.

There are many ways of creating conflict in a story. You can make the main character want something that seems impossible to get. You can create other characters whose values are opposed to that of the main character. The work of your antagonist would be to put roadblocks on the path of your hero. Overcoming these obstacles will transform the main character and give your story a good character arc.

𝟲. 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘

This is the central message of your story. What stands out as an overall message in your write-up? What’s the moral lesson of your story? Does good always triumph over evil? Is love worth a try? Are you trying to talk about the redemption of the main character? Are you showcasing his courage? Everything that happens in a story revolves around a central theme. You must identify what the theme of your story is, and weave events and characters around it.

These are the basic elements that you must understand in writing your fiction. Understanding these elements will guarantee your success as a writer.

Learn more about fiction writing here!

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