Prose Fiction: notes

Plot

• Plot: the order of events in a story.
• Exposition: the start, which introduces people and place.
• Rising action: trouble builds. Climax: the turning point. Resolution: how it ends.
• Conflict: the struggle at the heart of the story, between people, with society or inside one mind.
• Subplot: a smaller story running beside the main one.

Time tricks

• Flashback: a jump back to earlier events.
• Foreshadowing: a hint of what will happen later.
• Suspense: the reader's worry about what comes next.

Characters and setting

• Protagonist: the main character. Antagonist: the one who opposes them.
• Round character: complex and able to change. Flat character: simple and stays the same.
• Setting: the time and place, which can also set the mood.

Point of view

• First person: the narrator says "I". Third person: the narrator stands outside and says "he" or "she".