Well, the glossary of our handy fifth edition of Intro to Reading and Writing states that it is a written or oral composition that tells stories, dramatize situations, express emotion and analyzes and advocates ideas. How does the author accomplish all this? By using tools like plot, setting, characters, and their very own tone and style. Some authors write and base their works on passed events that at one time or another happened to them.
Others though have to use their imagination and that makes things more complicated, because he or she has to come up with the characters and the setting. In other words everything necessary for a story. In the other hand the authors that witness an event would probably use the names of the actual people and the setting where the event took place. Now even though everyone has different ways of coming up with the material for a story they all use the same tools. However, the different ways and styles are what make all the difference between the best sellers and just another good story.
Some authors get their ideas from just regular every day life, while others go out and make things happen. They go out seeking material involving people or better I should say entities, like a force of nature maybe, these entities conflict with each other hus causing dramatic situations of some sort. The writer takes all the conflict and action occurring and makes some kind of sequence. It is required in order to form a pattern or a storyline; this is called the skeleton or structure of the story.
Many authors use what is called a formal structure, which includes the exposition, necessary information to better understand the story and also details about the characters. Following the exposition is the complication, a major conflict where the author has the characters try to resolve a crises or situation. When the crisis reaches a turning point it is called the climax of he story. Shortly after the climax the crises is resolved and the story comes to an end. To express emotion the author has to use yet another tool known as the setting.
This helps the reader visualize a picture in his or her mind of how and when the story is taking place. The setting is usually stated on the exposition section of the formal structure type plot. Now if every author would put the setting in the same spot or use the same structure, well reading would quickly become very boring. So authors, sometimes without even knowing develop a certain style of writing. They make changes in the plot using flashbacks on the haracters and alterations in the settings making every story different form each other.
These styles of writing are developed in what is called the authors realm. It comprises of a number of things like where the author lives. Also what his or her social standing in society is and even the authors gender affects the realm. Whichever way the material for a story is acquired and developed is up to the authors, it is up to us the reader to enjoy them over and over or just store them. These were only a few examples of how literature comes about and what it is, but the possibilities are endless.
