Writing Tips

The Five Elements of Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction is just that: realistic fiction. A story that could actually happen, with believable characters, detailed settings, and good dialogue would fit into the genre of realistic fiction. In contrast, science fiction takes place in imaginary settings and includes things that would be impossible with our current technology. This article will briefly examine the five main elements of realistic fiction and how each element appears in a good, realistic fiction novel or short story.

These five elements are:

(1) Characterization

(2) Plot

(3) Setting

(4) Dialogue

(5) Description

(1) Characterization is the process of developing characters. Like real people, realistic characters should appear to have dreams, hopes, beliefs, problems, and passions. They should look almost as realistic as a friend or family member. Often, authors use people they know as a basis for their characters.

(2) Plot drives the story along. Without a good, suspenseful plot, readers lose interest in the story. There must be a conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement (or conclusion). Ending a chapter in the middle of some action or new revelation keeps readers turning the pages. For example: ‘Suddenly, Mary heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the staircase from below. At that moment, she knew her worst fears were soon to come true.’ This chapter or section has a suspenseful, cliff-hanger ending which compels readers to continue reading. Having the right amount of suspense will make a plot unpredictable, which is good. If the plot were too predictable, it would give readers a good excuse to stop reading and find something else to spend their free time doing.

(3) Settings, written descriptively, provide the reader with a stage for their imagination. The setting of a story is the world in which the characters live. On this stage, readers can see the action occurring. The setting may be one of the most important elements of the five. A novel can have realistic characters, but without realistic and detailed settings, the story will lose its realism.

Descriptions vary from author to author, but, typically, settings are described in a general sense to create a basic image in the reader’s mind, and then certain objects or people are described in detail to give the setting life. For instance, the descriptions of a setting might look like this (this is an excerpt from The Paragon: A Quest Begins, a novel I recently published):

‘A soft, red carpet muffled his steps as he reluctantly entered the chamber. His guide, the silent lantern bearer, left without a word, and the door closed behind him. The room was a study or small library with sagging shelves piled with old books. A fire burned in a brick fireplace at the back of the room. Only its flickering, eerie glow provided light to see by. The room had no windows and almost no furniture.　
Adrian Cart’s tall shadow rippled and undulated across the floor in sync with the dancing flames. It was as if the shadow was a tormented spirit writhing in the flames of Hell. A musky smell filled the stale air—the smell of slowly deteriorating books. 　　
A high-backed cathedra made of oak was turned away from the fireplace, facing Adrian. He could not be certain, but it appeared that two carved lions or tigers served as armrests. Backlit by the fiery glow, the figure seated in the throne was hidden in shadow. The figure wore what appeared to be a black robe that trailed to the floor. 　　

Snap. Hiss. Pop. The fire crackled away: the only sound in the room. Stillness like that within a tomb settled over the room. A faint glimmer of red appeared in the firelight, hovering above the left armrest. It was a ruby in a ring. Somehow, that ring was familiar. No, it was more than familiar. Full recognition came to Adrian suddenly like water rushing through a sluice gate that had just been opened. He remembered who the dark-lit figure was. 　
　
A rich, deep, unemotional voice broke the silence. “Mr. Tyson, welcome.”’ 　(4) Dialogue is important for a story to be believable. If the dialogue is stiff and unnatural, it will quickly lose the reader's interest in continuing to read. What a character says to another character must sound like what people say to each other in real life. For example, a person in real life would not likely say, ‘My name is George. My hobbies include, but are not limited to, diving, skiing, reading, and sleeping. I am a friend of Donald. What might your name be?’ The dialogue should be natural, as in this example: ‘I'm George. I'm friends with Donald. And, your name is...?’

(5) Description is a must for any good story. A story with bland adjectives or adverbs will appear as if a robot had written it. The more unique and interesting a descriptive word or phrase is, the more the characters, their actions, and the settings will become realistic and captivating. Describing trees as ‘ancient, gnarled oaks bending over like aged men’ creates a vivid picture a reader can easily imagine. Here's an example of a sentence with no descriptive words: ‘Sarah went over to the library and went inside.’ A more descriptive version might look like this: ‘Wearing a red sweater and blue jeans that flapped in a strong breeze, Sarah dashed, for cover, to the yawning doorway of the Greendale City Library, a towering, old, brick edifice, which had withstood many windstorms during its long life.’ While description is important, too much description can bog down a story and make it boring. As with most things, there must be a balance.
　

In summary, characters based on real people, a suspenseful and unpredictable plot, settings that have vivid descriptions, dialogue that is believable, and descriptions that paint pictures in readers' minds are all important for creating a winning novel. These five elements together constitute a realistic story.

　
　
　
　
　

　
　
　
　
　

What Makes Good Fiction?

　
　
Many people have various opinions about what good fiction should look like, but almost anyone could agree that there are certain elements that should be an integral part of fiction. Plot, characterization, and the setting are three basic components of all novels, plays, and movies. But how exactly do these components make a good story?

All stories have plots. A good plot has a clearly defined conflict between the protagonists and the antagonists. The war between the Scottish and the English, as seen in the movie Braveheart, is a clear example of a real conflict between good protagonists and bad antagonists. William Wallace did not merely have an emotional or verbal conflict with his enemies. Armed with his massive claymore, Wallace hacked through his foes, fighting against overwhelming odds.

Conflict can also involve a more subtle form, such as the tension between the opposing sides in a court of law. Whether the main character is battling his enemies with a sword or arguing verbally with his opponent, the tension and conflict should increase progressively as the plot moves forward and eventually come to a head, the climax, where tension and conflict are at the maximum.

At this point, prior to the resolution of the conflict, the main characters are close to losing the battle or conflict. Here, the reader, or viewer of the story, should get the strong feeling that the hero just might end up losing to his foes. If it appears that the main character always has the upper hand and does not have a chance of losing, the outcome will be obvious and the reader may find it hard to keep reading. For example, if super heroes never had imposing enemies that presented real challenges for them, they would have very few fans. Stories with good plots and interesting characters will hold the reader’s attention up to the time of the climax.

A good plot can only exist if the characters are well formed and realistic. Stories with poorly developed characters do not hold the reader’s attention for long because they seem fake and two-dimensional. A character is really an imaginary person that exists in the author’s mind. If the author fails to imagine and create realistic characters, his story will lack a dynamic and believable element that is crucial for it to be interesting. A character can make or break a story. Good characters stand out in a reader’s mind. They appear almost as realistic and believable as a person one is acquainted with, such as a coworker, a boss, or a friend. Being realistic, they shouldn’t appear to have been created on an assembly line. Each character should be different from any other that existed. Unique features set good characters apart from the thousands of personas that exist in movies and books. Features such as a scar on the cheek, walking with a limp, having a unique way of speaking, or a distinct personality help to give characters a life-like feel. An assassin with beak-like nose, a detective with beady eyes that can pierce like lasers, or a scientist with a nervous habit of rubbing his hands together all stand out and will likely be remembered by the reader of good fiction.

And finally, a story can only be good if it has a distinct, detailed, and realistic setting (or settings) that makes the reader feel as if he or she is present in the story. If the story takes place in the 1800s, in the city of London, the descriptions of the period, the clothing styles, the streets, the buildings, the rooms, the bridges, and the people should be accurate and vivid. The reader should be able to visit the streets of London and almost see the surroundings in his or her mind’s eye. ‘Cobblestone streets worn smooth like polished wood by the countless numbers of feet that have trodden them underfoot’, ‘quaint shop signs once brightly painted but now exfoliating their decaying coatings like lizards shedding scales’, and ‘a horse-drawn coach, its wheels protesting with loud squeaks, rushed past’ all are descriptions that help to make the settings come alive in the reader’s mind.

However, a huge amount of unnecessary details do nothing to create interest in the story or in the plot. Rather, they slow down the pacing of the story and tend to make the story uninteresting. Pacing is everything in novels and movies. If the story is interesting and the conflict and tension are increasing in intensity, a long, slow, relatively uneventful spot in the middle of the story will cause many readers to stop reading, or to read less and less each time they pick up the book. From beginning to end, the story needs to be interesting, and the pacing, though somewhat varied, should not leave room for boredom. A reader of a good fiction story will be reluctant to put the book down and will have a lingering curiosity about what will happen next.

In conclusion, fiction has three main elements: a plot, characters, and a setting (or several). A good plot is interesting and unpredictable with a real conflict that culminates in a climax. A plot can only be good if the characters performing the action and involved in the conflict are realistic, unique, and believable. The setting (or settings), where the characters interact, must be a place (or places) that the reader can easily imagine and picture vividly in his or her mind. Details should make the story come alive, without bogging down the pacing. Those three elements together constitute a good story.