Fiction-writing modes
Encyclopedia
A fiction-writing mode is a manner of writing with its own set of conventions regarding how, when, and where it should be used.

Fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

 is a form of narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...

, one of the four rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. Four of the most common rhetorical modes and their purpose are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration....

 of discourse. Fiction-writing also has distinct forms of expression, or modes, each with its own purposes and conventions. Currently, there is no consensus within the writing community regarding the number and composition of fiction-writing modes and their uses. Some writing modes suggested include action, dialogue, thoughts, summary, scene, description, background, exposition and transition.

Narration

As a fiction-writing mode, narration is how the narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...

 communicates directly to the reader. This contrasts with the use of the term "narration" as a rhetorical mode of discourse, where it has a broader meaning which encompasses all written fiction.

Description

Description
Description
Description is one of four rhetorical modes , along with exposition, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions....

 is the fiction-writing mode for transmitting a mental image of the particulars of a story. Together with dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....

, narration, exposition, and summarization, description is one of the most widely recognized of the fiction-writing modes. Description is more than the amassing of details, it is bringing a scene to life by carefully choosing and arranging words and phrases to produce the desired effect.

Exposition

Broadly defined, exposition is one of four rhetorical modes of discourse. Within the context of fiction-writing modes, exposition is used to convey information. Exposition may be used to add drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 to a story, but too much exposition at one time may slow the pace of the story.

Summarization

Summarization
Summary
A summary, synopsis, or recap is a shorter version of the original. Such a simplification highlights the major points from the much longer subject, such as a text, speech, film, or event...

, or narrative summary, condenses events to convey, rather than to show, what happens within a story. The "tell" in the axiom
Axiom
In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proven or demonstrated but considered either to be self-evident or to define and delimit the realm of analysis. In other words, an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true...

 "Show, don't tell
Show, don't tell
This page is about the composition principle. For the Rush song, see Show Don't Tell Show, don't tell is an admonition to fiction writers to write in a manner that allows the reader to experience the story through a character's action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the...

" is often in the form of summarization. Summarization may be used to:
  • connect parts of a story
  • report details of less important events
  • skip events that are irrelevant to the plot
  • convey an emotional state over an extended period of time
  • vary the rhythm and texture of the writing


The main advantage of summary is that it takes up less space than other fiction-writing modes. Effective use of summarization requires a balance between showing and telling, action and summary, with rhythm, pace and tone playing a role.

Introspection

Introspection (also referred to as internal dialogue, interior monologue, or self-talk) is the fiction-writing mode used to convey the thoughts of a character, allowing the expression of normally unexpressed thoughts. Introspection may also be used to:
  • enhance a story by allowing the character's thoughts to deepen characterisation
    Characterisation
    Characterization or characterisation is the art of creating characters for a narrative, including the process of conveying information about them. It may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation...

  • increase tension
  • widen the scope of a story
  • play a critical role in both scene and sequel
    Scene (fiction)
    In fiction, a scene is a unit of drama. A sequel is what follows; an aftermath. Together, scene and sequel provide the building blocks of plot for short stories, novels, and other forms of fiction.-Characteristics of a scene:...


Recollection

Recollection
Recollection
Recall in memory refers to the retrieval of events or information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: free recall, cued recall and serial recall...

 is the fiction-writing mode whereby a character remembers
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....

 a detail or event. It plays a vital role in conveying backstory
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...

 by allowing writers to convey information from earlier in the story or from before the beginning of the story. Although recollection is not widely recognized as a distinct mode of fiction-writing, it is a common tool. Recollection could be considered a subset of introspection, but its role in developing backstory separates it from the other thoughts of a character. Effective presentation of recollection has its own unique issues and challenges. For example, timing a recollection to avoid implausible-seeming memories (such as when a character must make a key decision) can be difficult, and should be prompted by a recent plot event.

Sensation

Sensation is used to portray a character's perception
Perception
Perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting sensory information. All perception involves signals in the nervous system, which in turn result from physical stimulation of the sense organs...

s. It can help draw the reader in by conveying the actual sensations of things comprising the story, breathing life into its physical world. Since the reader has experienced only a portion of the sensations experienced by the character, the author aims to either provoke recall from the reader, or convey the experience, drawing the reader in and maintaining interest in the story.

Emotion

The fiction-writing mode of emotion
Emotion
Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...

 conveys the feelings of the character, and is a vital component of creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...

. Connecting the character to his own emotions allows the author to connect with the reader on an emotional level.

Action

Action is the demonstration of events as they are happening in a story, and may help readers feel as if they were participating in the plot.

Transition

Transitions
Transition (fiction)
Transitions in fiction are words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation that may be used to signal various changes in a story, including changes in time, location, point-of-view character, mood, tone, emotion, and pace...

 in fiction are words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation that may be used to signal various changes in a story, including changes in time, location, point-of-view character, mood, tone, emotion, and pace.

See also

  • Writing
    Writing
    Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

  • Style
    Style (fiction)
    In fiction, style is the manner in which the author tells the story. Along with plot, character, theme, and setting, style is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.-Fiction-writing modes:...

  • Exposition
    Exposition (literary technique)
    At the beginning of a narrative, the exposition is the author's providing of some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Exposition is considered one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, along with argumentation, description, and narration...

  • Narrative mode
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