CW Module 5 2021-2022
CW Module 5 2021-2022
CREATIVE WRITING –
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL
SCIENCES (GRADE 12)
1
Overview on the Elements of Fiction
Writing
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2
Character as an Element of Fiction
Writing
Let’s read and discuss!
The development of the characters is important to the short story. The characters are the
heart of the story. It is an imagined person who inhibits a story, but characters may also be based
on real people whom the writer uses as models. According to Margaret Lucke, “Your idea won’t
come alive, won’t begin to become a story, until some characters claim it as their own; the story comes out
of their motives, their desires, their actions, and interactions and reactions.”
Types of Characters
1. Stock Characters or Stereotyped Characters - the characters in commercial fiction are
usually stereotypes. These are characters that require less-detailed portrayal. We already
know them well since they have dominant virtues and vices. Most writers attempt to
create unique individuals who are multifaceted just like the people we meet – not the
stereotypes. Characters must be solid, complex, and real, to be believable. For example,
Cinderella’s Stepmother.
2. Hero/ Heroine - the hero is the good guy or leading male character who opposes the
villain or the bad guy. The leading female character is the heroine. The hero and the
heroine are usually larger than life like those found in epics and swashbuckling tales.
3
Point of View/ Plot/ and Setting as
Elements in Fiction Writing
SETTING
Setting refers to the place and the time where and when an event happens. Where a story
takes place is also called its locale. When you set your story in a particular geographic area, you
are bringing the place alive for readers who live somewhere else.
As with time, you tell your readers whether your story happens during daytime or
nighttime; on a sunny or rainy morning; a few months ago or two hundred years ago. But more
than the place and time, setting signifies a bigger environment or surrounding. A story becomes
more realistic if you are able to incorporate the following dimensions in depicting setting.
a. Setting (Physical Environment) - refers to all things or characteristics that are
discernible, such as shapes, colors and textures, natural features, and landscapes.
Physical characteristics may also include smaller details, such as the size of a room, an
unmade and dirty bed, or a drop of water on the floor.
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4
Conflict/ Theme/ and Symbolism as
Elements in Fiction Writing
Let’s read and discuss!
The following are the other main elements in writing fiction.
CONFLICT
In every story, there has to be a problem. The main character has to be challenged in
some way or the story will go nowhere. Conflict is an event, situation, or circumstance that
shakes up a stable situation; it is a struggle between two opposing forces. It propels the events of
the story and raises the issues that must be resolved.
A. External Conflict
External conflict arises between the character and an outside force:
a. Man vs. Nature – an external struggle which positions the protagonist against an
animal or force of nature.
b. Man vs. Man – involves stories where characters are pitted against each other.
c. Man vs. Society – involves stories where man stands against a man-made institution,
such as the family, the Church, Universities, the government and the mass media.
B. Internal Conflict
Internal conflict arises within the character himself:
d. Man vs. Himself – a struggle that involves a character trying to overcome his or her
own nature or make a choice between two or more paths.
THEME
This is the controlling idea or the insight that the author wants the reader to understand
at the end of the story. The theme is often the author’s thoughts or view of a subject. It may be:
Dramatic Issue
8|Page E.C. BERNABE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL - SHS
Moral
Insight
(Note that the proper way in writing the theme should be a complete sentence.)
Other specific word themes are indicated in the table below:
Philosophy Progress/ Development Nature
Camaraderie Love/ Hate Peace/ War
Dirty justice Bitter injustice Marriage/ Divorce
Horror/Terror Spiritual/ Séance Gender/ Sexuality
Social Statuses Good/ Evil Beauty/ Destruction
SYMBOLISM
When used as a literary device, symbolism means to imbue objects with a certain
meaning that is different from their original meaning or function. Other literary devices, such as
metaphor, allegory, and allusion, aid in the development of symbolism. Authors use symbolism
to tie certain things that may initially seem unimportant to more universal themes.
The symbols then represent these grander ideas or qualities. For instance, an author may
use a particular color that on its own is nothing more than a color, but hints at a deeper meaning.
One notable example is in Joseph Conrad’s aptly titled Heart of Darkness, where the “darkness”
of the African continent in his work is supposed to symbolize its backwardness and the
possibility of evil there.
(Note: Archetypal Symbols in Literature by Carl Jung are stated in Module 3.)
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Performance Assessment 5
Read the Part 3 of the short story on Zombie Apocalypse series and answer the questions
that follow.
A Treacherous Tactic (Part 3 – Zombie Apocalypse)
By PJ Tenten Lee
Stupidity is like a virus that spreads, that is,
Another deadly plague that threads.
Victory is not the most achieved goal,
Ending this pandemic is the best poll.
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References:
Wigley, J.J., Aguila, A.A., & Galan, R.S. (2017). Wording the World: The Art of Creative Writing for
Senior High School. C&E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City, Philippines.
Burroway, J. (2007). Imaginative Writing: The Elements of Craft (2 nd Edition). Penguin Academics.
Florida State University.
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