Using Elements of Creative Nonfiction:

Characters/ Characterization
Perspective
Scene Setting
Principles, Elements, Techniques, and Devices of Creative Nonfiction
Figurative Language
Theme
Character
Characterization and
Dialogue
Pip | A Short Animated Film by Southeastern Guide Dogs
 Process Questions:
1. What was the story all about?

2. Who are the characters in the story?

3. What is the role of having characters in a story?

You may have an earth-shattering, spine-tingling plot
structure, but if the actions of your characters do
not hold water, your story will crumble even before it
reaches its middle part.

The characters in your story are the individuals who

will drive the plot until the very end. Your characters
could be of any race, color or national origin,
political background, religion, sex, age and
disability.

If your characters are creatures that talk and like

humans, they will only entertain your readers. You
Characters are categorized into:

Flat Characters Round Characters

Predictable Have depth
Built around a single Have a complexity in
idea or quality temperament and
motivation
Two-dimensional; do not Capable of growth and
change through out the change during the
course of a narrative course of the narrative
 Characters are identified as:
1. Protagonist- the main character in a narrative
2. Deuteragonist- the “sidekick” who aids the
protagonist
3. Antagonist- the one who opposes the protagonists
4. Tritagonist- the least important character in a
narrative.
Writing Dialogues
 A nonfictional essay may have that vibe of
fictional works like a short story or novel.
This is accomplished by writing a dialogue.

• Dialogues are literary technique in which two or

more characters having a conversation with each
other.
•

• “I don’t need a lawyer, judge.” he said.

• “I don’t need a lawyer, judge,” he said.
 Characterization
• the creation or construction of a fictional
character:

• Physical traits
• Beliefs
• Notions
• Speech
• Behavior
 What holds a story?
• Plot-driven narrative - stories where the emphasis is more
on plot twists, external conflict, and action. Often the story
goals are more external such as obtaining, winning, escaping, or
changing a situation.
• Character-driven narrative - focused on studying the
characters that make up your story. Character-driven stories
can deal with inner transformation or the relationships between
the characters. Whereas plot-driven stories focus on a set of
choices that a character must make, a character-driven story
focuses on how the character arrives at a particular choice.
 Ways to build characterization:
1. Direct or explicit characterization – when you itemize the
personality and traits of your character.
Example: Gino is levelheaded, diplomatic, and receptive.
2. Indirect or implicit characterization – when you want to
show the real personality and traits of your character
through his her thoughts, words or action
Example: “Gentlemen, I think we can work this out. Let us
listen to each other’s points first and then come up with a
shared decision,” Gino said, unperturbed by his quarreling
workmates.
Perspective
Intonation, Tone,
Point of View (POV)
 Intonation
• The rise and fall of the voice in speaking
• Used in speech to determine what message you want to
convey. The patterns of voice includes:
• Rising intonation “Are you ready to listen?”
• Falling intonation “When are you going to listen?”
• Fall-rise intonation “Would you like to listen?”
 Tone
• The approach of the author on his or her
writing
• The writer’s attitude toward the reader and
the subject of the message. The overall tone of
a written message affects the reader just as
one’s tone of voice affects the listener in
everyday exchanges.
In setting the tone of your writing,
consider the following factors:
• Diction – choice of words
• Syntax – arrangement of words
• Sentence structure – construction of
sentences
 Tone is evident in:
• Speaker
• Dialogue
• Flow of the story
• Actions of the character
 Authorial Voice
• Writer’s voice or his or her style of
writing developed through time
• The narrative voice is the voice of your
work’s speaker (narrator or persona)
 Point of View (POV)

• Point of view refers to who is telling or

narrating a story. A story can be told from
the first person, second person or third
person point of view (POV). Writers use
POV to express the personal emotions of
either themselves or their characters. The
POV of a story is how the writer wants to
convey the experience to the reader.
 First-person POV

• The first person point of view tells

the story from the perspective of
the author or narrator. Because of
that, it uses first person pronouns like
“I,” “we,” “my,” “mine,” “our,” and
“ours.”
 Second-person POV
• A second person point of view is a narrative
perspective that places the emphasis on you. Although
the second person point of view is very difficult to
sustain, it can be used sparingly to great effect by writers
to make the reader an active participant in a story.
Second person is incredibly hard to communicate in
visual mediums, because it’s so reliant on upsetting the
more detached perspectives we typically have while
watching film or TV.
 Third-person POV
• The third-person point of view gives you the perspective of the person being
talked about in a written work. When a story or novel has a third-person
perspective, for example, a narrator describes what's happening with the
characters and what they're doing. While you don't see the story from the
character's point of view as you would with a first-person perspective, a
third-person point of view narrator describes the character's feelings and
thoughts throughout the story or novel.
• Also, while the first-person point of view focuses on the "I" or "we"
perspective and a second-person point of view uses the "you" perspective, a
third-person point of view uses pronouns like "he," "she," "it" and "they."
Keep in mind that not all third-person sentences include a pronoun.
 Third-person POV:
Three ways of writing
1. Objective- unbiased POV, knows or reveals nothing
about the characters’ internal thoughts, feelings, and
motivations, and sticks to the external facts of the story.
2. Limited omniscient- the speaker knows the internal
thoughts, opinions, feelings and motivations of one
character only (usually the main character) which
means anything the character does not know about, the
narrator cannot tell.
 Third-person POV:
Three ways of writing
3. Omniscient- the speaker knows, at least
partially reveals, the internal thoughts,
opinions, feelings, and motivations of all the
characters, and describes almost everything about
the places and events of the story.
 Scene
Setting
Tone and Mood
 Scene Setting
• Mood – reader centric; how the readers reacts to
your work- both their emotional state and
disposition in mind.
• Diction also affects the mood of your work.
• Mood is synonymous with atmosphere.
Emotional atmosphere is how you feel in
reading your story.
 Figurative
Language
Idioms, Simile, Metaphor ,Personification
Irony, Allusion, Hyperbole
Poetic Device: Assonance and Alliteration
 Figurative Language

• refers to the use of words in a way that

deviates from the conventional order
and meaning in order to convey a
complicated meaning, colorful writing,
clarity, or evocative comparison. It
uses an ordinary sentence to refer to
something without directly stating it.
 Idioms
• form of expression natural to a language, person,
or group of people
• a group of words established by usage as having a
meaning not deducible from those of the
individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the
light).
 Simile
•a figure of speech involving the
comparison of one thing with another
thing of a different kind, used to make a
description more emphatic or vivid using
“like” and “as____as”.
• (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox).
 Metaphor
• A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an object or action in a way
that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.
• Here are the basics:
• A metaphor states that one thing is another thing
• It equates those two things not because they actually are the same,
but for the sake of comparison or symbolism
• If you take a metaphor literally, it will probably sound very strange
(are there actually any sheep, black or otherwise, in your family?)
• Metaphors are used in poetry, literature, and anytime someone wants
to add some color to their language
 Personification
• a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given
human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if
it were human. Personification is a common form of
metaphor in that human characteristics are
attributed to nonhuman things. This allows writers
to create life and motion within inanimate objects,
animals, and even abstract ideas by assigning them
recognizable human behaviors and emotions.
 Allusion
• a reference, typically brief, to a person, place,
thing, event, or other literary work with which the
reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device,
allusion allows a writer to compress a great deal
of meaning and significance into a word or
phrase. However, allusions are only effective to
the extent that they are recognized and
understood by the reader, and that they are
properly inferred and interpreted by the reader. If
an allusion is obscure or misunderstood, it can
 Hyperbole
• a figure of speech and literary device that creates
heightened effect through deliberate
exaggeration. Hyperbole is often a boldly
overstated or exaggerated claim or statement that
adds emphasis without the intention of being
literally true. In rhetoric and literature, hyperbole
is often used for serious, comic, or ironic effects.
 Poetic Device:
Assonance and Alliteration
• Assonance is a figure of speech in which the same vowel sound repeats within
a group of words. An example of assonance is: "Who gave Newt and Scooter
the blue tuna? It was too soon!“
• Alliteration is a literary device that reflects repetition in two or more nearby
words of initial consonant sounds. Alliteration does not refer to the repetition
of consonant letters that begin words, but rather the repetition of the
consonant sound at the beginning of words. For example, the phrase “kids’
coats” is alliterative; though the words begin with different consonant letters,
they produce the same consonant sounds. Similarly, the phrase “phony people”
is not alliterative; though both words begin with the same consonant, the initial
consonant sounds are different. In addition, for alliteration to be effective,
alliterative words should flow in quick succession. If there are too many non-
alliterative words in between, then the literary device is not purposeful.
 Theme
Misconceptions about Theme
Things to Consider in Identifying Theme
 Theme
• The “soul” of a literary work; embodies the rational,
emotional or spiritual principle of author.
• Unifies and dominates the entire literary work as it
weaves the plot, conflict and characters
Misconceptions about Theme
1. The theme is not the topic or the subject matter, but the
idea explored in a literary work.
2. There is only one theme in every literary work.
3. The theme is always mentioned in the literary work.
4. The theme of a literary work is its moral lesson
5. The theme is the purpose or the intention of the author.
6. The theme is the conflict of the narrative.
 Things to Consider in
Identifying Theme
1. Evaluate the title.
2. Read the first and the last paragraph.
3. Identify the plot and conflict.
4. Identify the characterization.
5. Identify the subject of the literary work.
6. Identify the scene.
7. Look for repeating patterns and symbols.