HOW TO WRITE FICTION (A clinical anatomy of fiction)

A CLINICAL ANATOMY OF PROSE FICTION

by: Olanrewaju Tajudeen (OlaWrites)
at: Writers Connect (WRICON)

INTRODUCTION

"I lost my phone to WhatsApp flirting.
She's one of the group members with the most beautiful display picture have ever seen.  I tried throwing her poetic jibes but she took no notice.

So I decided to gain her attention directly by trading my phone. I challenged her to a duel and staked my phone. She won, I lost, but I gained her attention. In the end I felt satisfied."

My name is Olanrewaju. I'm here to deal with Fictional Prose. Allow me the liberty to interchange the components to 'Prose fiction.' I posted something earlier, it's like rambling. (You can stroll up for it).

The "I lost my phone..." Post. I have introduced the topic by practical presentation. What I have done is 'prose fiction'

But before I proceed, I'll like to present the table of contents. What I will be speaking on is:

-Definition /Meaning
-Characteristics of Prose Fiction
-Types of Prose Fiction


So by the end of this lecture, we should be able to


•differentiate prose fiction from other prose works; and
•define prose fiction in your own words.

We will start our definition of prose fiction with the definition of the two key words, “prose” and “fiction”. Thereafter, we will try to explain prose fiction as it relates to this discourse, as a literary term.


DEFINITION
Prose is the most typical form of language and it is derived from the Latin word 'prosa' which literally means 'straight-forward.' It is like talking to someone in a straight- forward manner and not in a sing-song or poetic way. This means that anything you say or write in prose is presented in a straight- forward manner.

For instance, this discourse is presented in prose. Hence, my reason for introducing the discuss with a short prose
The "I lost my phone..." Post.


If you hover to read again, you'll observe the directness of the post. If you understand this, you're way ahead in understanding 'Prose fiction.'

There are many views on the construction of prose but the summary of these views is that it has a simple and loosely defined structure. Adopted as the general mode of communication in presentations like the spoken dialogue, speeches, factual, topical and fictional writing. This means that most of the books you read are presented in prose and that you also talk in prose form.

In other words prose can be regarded as the opposite of poetry, as the later which uses aesthetic and rhythmic quality of language- such as meter- to evoke meaning. Prose reflects the pattern of everyday speech.

Words in prose are arranged in correct sentences and in a logical sequence for a meaningful understanding of the intended communication. In view of this, Samuel Taylor Coleridge insists in his definition of prose and poetry that; “prose is —words in their best order; poetry,—the best words in their best order.” (Quoted in Hall).

Hope you are taking note of the active words here?
Directness & logical arrangement of sentences for meaningful communication.

FICTION
Fiction is derived from the Latin word fictum which means “created”. Fiction is a term used to denote anything, mainly stories or accounts that are not real. Can you recall the fairy tale or other stories that your mother or grandmother used to tell you about animals, monsters, or even human beings that existed in faraway countries or in the primordial times.

These are fictional narratives. Fiction is therefore any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, are imaginary and invented by its author.

Apart from the general meaning of fiction as non-factual accounts, it is also used to denote a major branch of literature especially the novel and also drama/ other theatrical presentations in the cinematic and musical mode. The important factor here is that the story or presentation sis not factual or real.


PROSE FICTION
We have learnt the meaning of the words “prose” and “fiction” as separate words. Now let us try to merge the two words to get the meaning in our present context, that is, as a genre of literature. What then is prose fiction? It is fictional work that is presented in a narrative form.

Fiction and narrative are words that distinguish prose fiction from any other form of narrative or fictional work. For instance, drama is fiction but it is presented in dialogue and not narrative. Prose fiction as a literary genre is made up of the short story, the novella and the novel. Prose fiction tells a story and the fact that the story is not factual distinguishes it from history.

Prose fiction is an artistic work that “has a personal narrative, a hero to identify with fictional inventions, style, and suspense – in short anything that might be handled with the rather personal ventures of creativity and artistic freedom” (Kermode 23).

It may exaggerate or distort facts or the story may be completely an invention of the writer. It depends on the style of the writer and or what the writer wants to achieve. The story in prose fiction is invented by the writer but is presented in a realistic manner.


CHARACTERISTICS OF PROSE FICTION
We have defined prose fiction and its major difference from other literary genre. In the definition, we said that for a written work to qualify as prose fiction, it must be fictitious or imaginary and must be presented in prose form.

So right now, we are going to discuss the specific characteristics that make prose fiction unique. The characteristics include its ability to present life-like experiences through vivid descriptions of events presented in the works.


VERISIMILITUDE

Verisimilitude in Prose fiction is used to describe the situation whereby the story is presented in such a way that the events are realistic.

For instance, the reader possesses a sense of verisimilitude when reading a story in which a character cuts his finger, and the finger bleeds. If the character's cut finger had produced sparks of fire rather than blood, the story would not possess verisimilitude.

Prose fiction is basically for entertainment so is enjoyed or appreciated in intimate reading situations. The reader, alone is immersed in the fictional world created by the author.

This world is appreciated more if the element of verisimilitude is present. The intimacy is closer in prose fiction where the reader is alone and is reading and at the same time visualizing the performance of the characters in his mind as the narration unfolds.

In prose fiction, the reader is invited to personally identify with the novel's characters and this can only be achieved if the work presents a believable aspect of life.

TIME AND SPACE

This aids the writer’s ability to describe the environment, the actions of the characters and even their innermost thoughts and feelings.

According to Akachi Ezeigbo, time and space are very important in prose fiction because

“…every action in which people are involved is concerned with the passage of time in space. .…the picture that is built …acquires concreteness as a result of its passage through time/space”.

The time and space range helps to determine the ‘goodness’ or progress of characters or otherwise.

Volume
In a literal sense, the volume here refers to the size of the work. This size is determined by the length of the work which is in turn evaluated by the number of pages of a particular type of prose fiction.
As a guide on volume in prose fiction, we present the following from the internet.

•Short story is a work of at least 2,000 words but under 7,500 words. (5-25 pages)
•Novelette is a work of at least 7,500 words but under 17,500 words. (25-60 pages)
•Novella is a work of at least 17,500 words but under 50,000 words. (60-170 pages)
•Novel is a work of 50,000 words or more (about 170+ pages).

Atmosphere
Atmosphere in prose fiction is the emotion that pervades the work. It is the emotional feeling that one gets as one reads a particular work. This feeling is stronger in some works than in others.

The intensity of emotion in any particular work depends largely on the ability of the author to employ descriptive details that “...heighten the intensity of atmosphere. Language plays an important role here. The choice of words by the author helps to convey the desired atmosphere. The atmosphere is further heightened by the tempo of the action, the quality and clarity of the dialogue (Ezeigbo).

The atmosphere in a work can change from one event or situation to the other. This is why I see atmosphere as the mood/emotion of the moment.


Tone
The tone is closely related to atmosphere but is not as obvious as atmosphere. It is the writer’s attitude to theme that is being explored. It is usually elicited in the narration without the writer pointing it out or making direct comment.

A good writer presents the story objectively without taking sides but the tone is clear. Tone could be that of contempt, ridicule, condemnation, admiration, exhortation and so on. Like in atmosphere, tone could change in the course of a narration. For instance, a writer’s tone for the good characters may be that of admiration and that of condemnation for the villain.


TYPES OF PROSE FICTION


The basic types of prose fiction include novels, novelettes, short stories, novella, [fables, fairy tales].
In some categorizations, “films, comic books and video games” are regarded as prose fiction (McKeon).

Apart from the basic types we also have others like science and philosophical fiction.


1•Science Fiction:

This is the branch of prose fiction that combines entertainment and scientific speculation.

2 •Philosophical Fiction:

Philosophical fiction is an amalgam of fiction and philosophy that sometimes tilts towards propaganda.

These kinds of fictions constitute thought experiments exploring consequences of certain technologies or philosophies. There may be other types but in this discourse we will concern ourselves with the novel, the novelette and the short story which are the basic and popular types.

Let's go to the main types of prose fiction as listed above

a) The Novel

Definitions: The Oxford Twentieth Century Dictionary defines the novel as a fictional prose narrative or tale presenting the picture of real life, especially the emotional crises in the life history of the men and women portrayed.

In Dictionary of Literary Terms , the novel is defined as “a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length, portraying characters, actions, or scenes representative of real life in a plot of more or less intricacy” (Harmsworth).

It is a long narrative in literary prose that has its historical roots both in the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The present generic term “novel” is coined from the Italian word novella which means “a compact prose tale of somewhat longer length than the short story” (Kayode-Iyasere).

In many European countries, the novel is known as roman which means new or a link to the early romance.

The Major types of Novel
The Picaresque Novel, Gothic Novel, Epistolary, Historical, Social/Sociological, Bildungsroman, Psychological, Political/Novel of Ideas.

b) The Novella

Novella is simply a term used for a miniature or short novel. It shares all the characteristics of the novel and can fall into any of the categories of the novel.

However it is not as popular as the novel and sometimes, readers cannot differentiate between a novel and a novella. It is a written fictional prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction defines the novella as having a word count of between 17,500 and 40,000.

Other definitions start as low as 10,000 words and run as high as 70,000 words (Wikipedia).

Examples: English language novellas include George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Ernest
Hemingway’s The Old Man and The Sea, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Joseph
Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.

However, opinions are divided on the classification of these works as novella instead of novel.


c) The Short Story

The short story is a genre of prose fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels or books.

A short story is defined based on the length but this differs somewhat even among professional writers. Since the short story format includes a wide range of genres and styles, the actual length is determined by the individual author's preference.

Another major determinant of the length of a short story is the submission guidelines that are relevant to the story's actual market. Guidelines vary greatly among publishers. Many short story writers define their work through a combination of creative, personal expression and artistic integrity.

Consequently, definitions of the short story based upon length splinter even more when the writing process is taken into consideration. Short stories are usually used for literary competitions so the organizers often stipulate guidelines for submission.

Short stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story focuses on one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a small number of characters, and covers a short period of time. A typical pattern in a short story could be presented with exposition, complication, climax and resolution as in longer forms of fiction.

However, some short stories may not follow this pattern while some do not follow any patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action (in medias res). As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning point.

However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open. As with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story vary by its creator.

I'll like us to take the above as the major types.

Films, comic etc., are minor types we really don't have to disturb ourselves about.

I'll be rounding up the lecture with the following conclusion.

CONCLUSION
There are many types of prose fiction. The genre evolved from storytelling traditions of various societies in the world, epic narratives, and romance to the present form.

In modern prose fiction, the novel, the novella and the short story are the most popular genres. The novel stands out among the rest but for any prose fiction to be classified as a novel, it must present an element of verisimilitude.

This explains why thriller and some other melodramatic prose fictions are not classified as novel. The short story and the novella share the same characteristics with the novel but they are shorter in length. The length also differentiates the novella from the short story as the latter is shorter than the former.

I hope I have been able to stimulate your appetite for prose fiction; meeting up with the objective.

Thanks for coming.

©WRICON (Writers Connect)

•define prose fiction;