The first mode of writing human beings developed was the narration. This is how ancient people passed down their history, culture, knowledge, and wisdom to their young. They were narrative storytellers.
A Greek teacher and philosopher named Aristotle, who flourished in 365 B.C., decided to create the first public school. He believed that every mind was worth educating, not just the wealthy class. He called his school the Academy, from which we derive our word academics. Then Aristotle wrote a series of textbooks for his students. The book that explained all the rules for writing stories called Poetics. In order to discover the rules for narrative writing, Aristotle read all the great narrations of his culture and looked for the techniques they all had in common. He decided that these would be the rules that his students should follow in order to become great story writers. Aristotle's rules worked so well that we still study and use them today.
Aristotle said that the "heart" of every story was a conflict between a protagonist (the character we are for) and the antagonist (whatever or whoever is working against the protagonist). The protagonist is not necessarily a hero. He is just the person we are for. The antagonist is not necessarily a villain. He is just the person or thing we are against. Aristotle understood that human beings lean the best when they make mistakes, and Aristotle called those mistakes and struggles or conflicts. Conflict gives a story its life and value. Aristotle identified five conflicts that a protagonist must resolve in order to achieve wisdom: man vs. himself (guilt or a decision that must be made), man vs. man, man vs. society (a group), man vs. technology (anything man-made), and man vs. nature (the natural world of earth and air, forests and weather, and also the supernatural: spirits, ghosts, vampires, and God). Aristotle used the word man because women in his him were considered property and unable to have meaningful conflict.
Aristotle said that a storyteller should achieve three goals: entertain (hold the reader's attention from the beginning to end), inform (teach the reader new facts/knowledge), and enlighten (give the reader the wisdom to be a better person). Be sure that your story achieves these three goals. This is easier than it seems.
Aristotle chose the triangle to represent the story because it was the symbol of life: the uphill struggle of youth, the turning point of life, and the downhill passage toward death. On this triangle he placed the five phases of a story. The ancient Greeks believed that the number five granted the power of creativity and imagination, so Aristotle created a road map for story writing in five phases. The first phase he called Exposition, because the author must first expose the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, and then flashback to the origins of the conflict. This is called in medias res, Latin for "in the middle of things." He called the second phase the Complication (also called rising action) because conflicts always become worse before they can improve. He called the third phase the Climax, the moment of decision from which the protagonist can never turn back. The fourth phase was called Denoumenet (also called falling action). This is the unraveling of the conflict for better or worse. He called the fifth and final phase the Resolution, where all conflict is resolved. Aristotle said the Resolution should also reveal the author's theme (wisdom). The word theme is derived from the name Thea. She was the Greek goddess of wisdom. Aristotle's original phases still remain the standard in narrative writing. When your protagonist has moved through all five phases, your story will have given the reader wisdom.
You know immediately when you are reading a narration because you see characters in a state of conflict. Those characters speak to one another using dialogue (dia means between and logue means communication). You see a new paragraph every time a new character speaks. You hear dialogue and attribution (said + the speaker). You hear one of the four points of view. First person -- the protagonist or antagonist, Third person -- an onlooker or bystander, Second person -- when the characters in the story talk to the reader, or Omniscient -- the all knowing author.
A narration can be fictional (from the imagination). Fictional narrations include short stories (1-50 pages), novellas (50-100 pages) and novels (100 pages). Nonfictional narratives are biographies or autobiographies. Every narration should begin with a title that foreshadows and prepares the reader emotionally for the events, characters, and themes. You shouldn't choose an obvious title. Be creative.
A Greek teacher and philosopher named Aristotle, who flourished in 365 B.C., decided to create the first public school. He believed that every mind was worth educating, not just the wealthy class. He called his school the Academy, from which we derive our word academics. Then Aristotle wrote a series of textbooks for his students. The book that explained all the rules for writing stories called Poetics. In order to discover the rules for narrative writing, Aristotle read all the great narrations of his culture and looked for the techniques they all had in common. He decided that these would be the rules that his students should follow in order to become great story writers. Aristotle's rules worked so well that we still study and use them today.
Aristotle said that the "heart" of every story was a conflict between a protagonist (the character we are for) and the antagonist (whatever or whoever is working against the protagonist). The protagonist is not necessarily a hero. He is just the person we are for. The antagonist is not necessarily a villain. He is just the person or thing we are against. Aristotle understood that human beings lean the best when they make mistakes, and Aristotle called those mistakes and struggles or conflicts. Conflict gives a story its life and value. Aristotle identified five conflicts that a protagonist must resolve in order to achieve wisdom:
man vs. himself (guilt or a decision that must be made), man vs. man, man vs. society (a group), man vs. technology (anything man-made), and man vs. nature (the natural world of earth and air, forests and weather, and also the supernatural: spirits, ghosts, vampires, and God). Aristotle used the word man because women in his him were considered property and unable to have meaningful conflict.
Aristotle said that a storyteller should achieve three goals: entertain (hold the reader's attention from the beginning to end), inform (teach the reader new facts/knowledge), and enlighten (give the reader the wisdom to be a better person). Be sure that your story achieves these three goals. This is easier than it seems.
Aristotle chose the triangle to represent the story because it was the symbol of life: the uphill struggle of youth, the turning point of life, and the downhill passage toward death. On this triangle he placed the five phases of a story. The ancient Greeks believed that the number five granted the power of creativity and imagination, so Aristotle created a road map for story writing in five phases. The first phase he called Exposition, because the author must first expose the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist, and then flashback to the origins of the conflict. This is called in medias res, Latin for "in the middle of things." He called the second phase the Complication (also called rising action) because conflicts always become worse before they can improve. He called the third phase the Climax, the moment of decision from which the protagonist can never turn back. The fourth phase was called Denoumenet (also called falling action). This is the unraveling of the conflict for better or worse. He called the fifth and final phase the Resolution, where all conflict is resolved. Aristotle said the Resolution should also reveal the author's theme (wisdom). The word theme is derived from the name Thea. She was the Greek goddess of wisdom. Aristotle's original phases still remain the standard in narrative writing. When your protagonist has moved through all five phases, your story will have given the reader wisdom.
You know immediately when you are reading a narration because you see characters in a state of conflict. Those characters speak to one another using dialogue (dia means between and logue means communication). You see a new paragraph every time a new character speaks. You hear dialogue and attribution (said + the speaker). You hear one of the four points of view. First person -- the protagonist or antagonist, Third person -- an onlooker or bystander, Second person -- when the characters in the story talk to the reader, or Omniscient -- the all knowing author.
A narration can be fictional (from the imagination). Fictional narrations include short stories (1-50 pages), novellas (50-100 pages) and novels (100 pages). Nonfictional narratives are biographies or autobiographies. Every narration should begin with a title that foreshadows and prepares the reader emotionally for the events, characters, and themes. You shouldn't choose an obvious title. Be creative.