The parts of a story
- Plot (what happens), character (who it happens to), setting (where and when it takes place) and theme (the big ideas, such as friendship, power or growing up).
- A first-person narrator tells the story as "I"; a third-person narrator uses "he", "she" and "they".
- Structure: opening, build-up, problem, climax (the most exciting or important moment) and resolution. Writers also use flashbacks, foreshadowing (hints about what will happen) and cliffhangers.
- Genres include mystery, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical and dystopian (a frightening or unfair future society).
Characters and inference
- Writers show what a character is like through what they say, do and think, and how other characters react to them.
- To infer is to work out something the writer hasn't stated directly. If a character slams a door and won't speak, we can infer they are angry.
Language
- Look for similes (like or as), metaphors (saying something is something else), personification (giving human qualities to things), precise verbs and adjectives, and imagery.
- Pathetic fallacy is when the weather or setting reflects a mood, such as a storm at a tense moment.
- Sentence length matters: short sentences can build tension.
Writing about fiction
- Use PEE paragraphs: make a Point, give Evidence (a short quotation), and Explain its effect on the reader. Add a Link back to the question for PEEL.
- Keep quotations short and embed them in your own sentences.
- Use subject terminology (such as "metaphor" or "foreshadowing"), but always explain the effect.
Key terms
- Plot
- The events of a story.
- Setting
- Where and when a story takes place.
- Theme
- A big idea that a story explores, such as friendship or power.
- Narrator
- The voice that tells the story.
- Foreshadowing
- A hint about what will happen later.
- Climax
- The most exciting or important moment in a story.
- Infer
- Work out something that isn't stated directly.
- Pathetic fallacy
- When the weather or setting reflects a mood.
- Characterisation
- How a writer presents a character.
- Genre
- A type of story, such as mystery or fantasy.