A few of the essential elements in writing are:
Plot (structure) - the arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up a story
* Foreshadowing - when the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story; this can be obvious or disguised
* Suspense - tension that the author uses to create a feeling of discomfort about the unknown
* Conflict - struggle between opposing forces
* Exposition - background information regarding the setting, characters, or plot Rising Action - process the story follows as it builds to its main conflict
* Crisis - the significant turning point in the story that determines how it must end
* Resolution/Denouement - the way the story turns out
Character/Characterization - choices made by the author to reveal a character's personality, appearance, actions, dialogue, and motivations:
Reflects the Personality Fictional or Real Human, Supernatural, Mythical, Divine, Animalistic, or personifications of an abstraction Round or Flat or Stereotypical (also known as Stock Characters)
Setting - place or location of the action, provides the historical and cultural context for characters
* Geographical Location
* Time Period
* Daily Lifestyle
* Emotional State
* Climate
Theme, Strategy (essential element) can reflect:
* Innocence
* Experience Life or Death
* Reality Fate Madness or Sanity Love Society And the list goes on
Structure (plots and subplots) the way a writer arranges the plot of the story:
* Contrasting subplots give the main plot additional perspective
Point of View - this is who is telling the story and how it is told
* Narrator - person telling the story, who may or may not be a character in the story
* First-person - narrator participates in action but is sometimes limited in knowledge/vision
* Second person - narrator addresses the reader directly as though they are a part of the story
* Third person - narrator is a detached observer, reporting on events and lets the reader supply the meaning
* Omniscient - all knowing narrator (multiple perspectives)
* Stream of Consciousness
* Objective Point of View
Conflict, Action & Suspense
* Internal or External, Takes place between a character and
* Their Psychology , Circumstances, or Society
Diction/Dialogue (essential element) portrays the:
* Thoughts
* Emotions
* Feelings
* Clues to a Characters Background
* Clues to a Characters Personality
* Helps Advance the Plot
Foreshadowing (another essential element):Applied as
* Hints or Clues Creates Suspense
* Encourages the Reader
* Helps Make a Narrative more Authentic