Graphic. Punctuation
Phonetic Stylistic Devices
English Vocabulary
Lexical Stylistic Devices
Syntactical Stylistic Devices
Decoding Stylistics
Biographies
Guidelines
Analysis
Texts
Guidelines
Prose Story Forms
Read the information and instructions below and write a Christmas story, choosing one of the standard categories of fiction forms.Prose stories come in two basic forms: novels and short stories. Novels are long stories, with distinct beginnings, middles, and ends. Novels are usually divided into several chapters, and they have characters, setting, and plot. Many novels use dialogue to allow characters to talk to each other. Prose stories are also called fiction, something that is made up. Some writers create fiction entirely from their imaginations. Other writers create fiction based on real events or people.
Short stories also have beginnings, middles, and ends. They use characters, plot, and setting.
Although some stories are difficult to describe, others fit neatly into standard categories:
Allegory A story in which the characters stand for ideas such as Love, Pride, Greed, or Tolerance. The plot usually has a message or moral about real life.
Fable Like an allegory but short, with fewer characters and a simple moral. Aesop, a writer in ancient Greece, is probably the best-known fabulist, or writer of fables.
Fairy Tale An adventure in which the heroes are often royalty or beloved by royalty and the villains are evil witches, sorcerers, or monsters.
Fantasy A tale set in an imaginary world with imaginary characters. For example, animals can talk and fairies roam the countryside in fantasies.
Historical Fiction Stories based on history, with fictional main characters. Historical fiction is sometimes set in real places and includes real people among its characters.
Horror Tales about scary things, from ghosts and goblins to monsters and murderers.
Informational Fiction A story or book that uses fictional characters or settings to tell about real things. For example, a story that explains science experiments might be told by a science teacher working in a fictional lab.
Legend An exaggerated story about a real person or event. For example, there is a story that George Washington, first president of the USA, could never tell a lie.
Mystery Stories in which a problem is created by an unknown element. Mysteries are often crime stories. The main characters in mysteries are frequently detectives searching for a solution.
Myth A story made up to explain real events. Myths help us understand the beliefs and everyday life of the people described in them. Myths once were used to answer difficult questions, such as how the moon and stars were created, why the seasons change, why the leopard has spots, etc. They also explained the relationships of human beings and gods. Almost every culture in the world has its own set of myths.
Realistic Fiction Stories with imaginary characters and events that are so believable that they could take place in the real world.
Romance Stories in which the main character or characters are looking for love and happiness. Some romances are historical and share many features of historical fiction.
Science Fiction Stories, often set in the future, that use elements of modern science. Some science fiction stories are set on other planets. Others tell of aliens landing on Earth or of computers that run the world. Tall Tales Humorous stories that are full of exaggeration. Tall tales may or may not be about real people or events.
True Adventure Stories based on real people or real events, but the plot, setting, and characters are partly made up by the author.
