Elements #2, #3, and #4 of Writing Fiction -- Characters, Setting, and Plot

Element #1 of Fiction writing is “Showing vs. Telling.”  This is not to say that Telling is bad, but that only a smaller portion of good fiction is Telling while the majority of good fiction is Showing.  So what does a writer “Show?”  The answer is Elements #2, #3, and #4: Characters, Setting, and Plot.

Right now, I’m not going to discuss how to develop good characters, setting, or a plot.  I’ll discuss it in a future blog.  Here are some helpful links, though:

Element #2--Characters:

Character Link 1

Character Link 2

Element #3--Setting:

Setting Link 1

Elements #4--Plot:

Plot Link 1

Plot Link 2

Instead, I will examine how characters, setting, and plot are developed in  "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J. K. Rowling and "Twilight" by Stephenie Mayer.  I chose these two novels because the characters (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Belle, Edward, etc.), settings (Hogwarts, Forks, etc.), and plots are known to most readers and writers.  I urge you to dig out your copies of these books because very soon they will be our textbook.