BICOL COLLEGE INC.

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Cor. J.P. Rizal & R.F. Tabuena Sts.
Daraga, Albay, Philippines 4501

SELF LEARNING MODULE

IN
CREATIVE NONFICTION
Introduction to Literary Genres
Principles, Elements, Techniques, and Devices of Creative Nonfiction
QUARTER I Module 1 and Module 2

Grade 11

(First Semester, School Year 2020-2021)

Content: Module 1 – (1.1a and 1.1b)

Subject Teacher: Ms. Julie Ann M. Carreon

“If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking of them.”

– George Owell
 QUARTER I

A. Introduction to Literary Genres: Understanding Conventions of Traditional Genres

Content Standard:

The learner understands the literary conventions that govern the different genres.

Learning Competency:

1. Identify dominant literary conventions of a particular genre

2. Compare and contrast how the elements are used in the different genres.
3. Analyze and interpret the theme and techniques used in a particular text.
4. Create samples of the different literary elements based on one’s experience.
5. Write a draft of a short piece using any of the literary conventions of genre following these pointers:
a. Choosing a topic
b. Formulating a thesis statement
c. Organizing and developing ideas
d. Using any literary conventions of a genre
e. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed.

Objectives:

In this module, the students are expected to:

1. Define the delineation between creative and the nonfictional elements of creative nonfictional text.
2. Clearly and coherently uses multiple elements conventionally identified with a genre for a written
output.
3. Do a close reading of a creative nonfictional text
4. Write a draft of a short piece using an element.

GLOSSARY

1. Fiction- A written stories about people and events that are not real: literature that tells stories which
are imagined by the writer.
2. Nonfiction- prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people (such as biography or
history)
3. Genre – Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a specific form, content, and
style.
For example: Literature has four main genres: poetry, drama, fiction and non-fiction.
4. Literature- Derived from the Latin “literatura” meaning “writing fromed with letters”. Literature most
commonly refers to works of the creative imagination, including poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction,
journalism and in some instances,. Song.
5. Literary genres- A category of literary composition determined by literary techniques, tone, content,
or even (as in the case of fiction) length.
6. Literary Conventions- defining features of a particular genre such as a novel, a short story or a play.
 GEARING UP!

Direction: Encircle the words listed inside the box (vertical, horizontal, diagonal sides). (10 words)

Y H P A R G O I B S
H T Y M O O A K F C
F D A M N P R E I I
V Z W L O H R J C F
H I I E L N A U T I
E D T S E T W E I V
L R T G L Y A M O A
Y A F O L K P L N N
A M E L A T P E E K
F A B L E S L G B S

1. Literary Conventions
2. Tall Tale
3. Myths
4. Biography
5. Science Fiction
6. Fairy Tale
7. Fables
8. Drama
9. Poetry
10. Nonfiction

Follow Up Questions:

1. From the words listed above, what are familiar to you? What words do you already know?
What words are new to you?
 1.1 DOMINANT LITERARY CONVENTIONS OF A PARTICULAR GENRE

TALL TALE

A tall tale tells the story about a main character that is described to be extraordinary compared to people in real life.
(A main character is also called a protagonist.) These stories are highly exaggerated. This is done intentionally by
the author to engage the reader in a story that allows the reader to get in touch with their imagination.

It often explain the origins of lakes, mountains, and canyons; they are spun around such legendary heroes as Paul
Bunyan, the giant lumberjack of the Pacific Northwest; Mike Fink, the rowdy Mississippi River keelboatman;
and Davy Crockett, the backwoods Tennessee marksman. 

MYTHS

A myth is a classic or legendary story that usually focuses on a particular hero or event, and explains mysteries of
nature, existence, or the universe with no true basis in fact. Myths exist in every culture; but the most well known in
Western culture and literature are part of Greek and Roman mythology. The characters in myths—usually gods,
goddesses, warriors, and heroes—are often responsible for the creation and maintenance of elements of nature, as
well as physical, emotional, and practical aspects of human existence—for example Zeus; the god of the sky and the
earth and father of gods and men, and Aphrodite; the goddess of love and fertility. 

BIOGRAPHY

Biography, form of literature, commonly considered nonfictional, the subject of which is the life of an individual.
One of the oldest forms of literary expression, it seeks to re-create in words the life of a human being—as
understood from the historical or personal perspective of the author—by drawing upon all available evidence,
including that retained in memory as well as written, oral, and pictorial material.

SCIENCE FICTION

Science fiction, often called “sci-fi,” is a genre of fiction literature whose content is imaginative but based in
science. It relies heavily on scientific facts, theories, and principles as support for its settings, characters, themes,
and plot-lines, which is what makes it different from fantasy.

FAIRY TALES

A fairy tale is a children’s story in a magical setting about imaginary characters that include fairies, dwarfs, witches,
angels, trolls, and talking animals. It is also known as a folklore genre written in the form of short stories.

FABLES

Fable, narrative form, usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight
human follies and weaknesses. A moral—or lesson for behaviour—is woven into the story and often explicitly
formulated at the end.
DRAMA

Drama is a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance. It is one of the literary genres,
which is an imitation of some action. Drama is also a type of a play written for theater, television, radio, and film.

POETRY

Poetry is a literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional

response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.

Other literary words:

Antagonist is the character or force against which another character struggles.

Allegory is a symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning.

Character is an imaginary person that inhabits a literary work.

Characterization refers to the way the actors represent the character of the story.

Climax is the turning point of the action in the plot of a play or story.

Complication is the intensification of the conflict in a story or play.

Convention refers to a customary feature of a literary work such as the use of a chorus in Greek tragedy and the
inclusion of an explicit moral in a fable.

Dénouement is the resolution of the plot of a literary work.

Imagery is the pattern of related comparative aspects of language, particularly of images.

Irony is the contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.

Foil is a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature refers to the Motif. A character who contrasts
and parallels the main character in a play or story.

Forms include the organization, style and sequence of a narrative such as films being structured in flashback.

Metaphor refers to the comparison between essentially unlike things.

Mood is the atmosphere or emotional condition created by the piece within the setting.

Personification refers to the endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities.

Recognition is the point at which a character understands his or her situation as it really is.

Resolution refers to the sorting out or unraveling of a plot at the end of a play, novel, or story.

Reversal refers to the point at which the action of the plot turns in an unexpected direction for the protagonist. Plot
is the unified structure of incidents in a literary work.
Rising action is a set of conflicts and crises that constitute the part of a play's or story's plot leading up to the
climax.

Round character is one who is complex and perhaps even contradictory.

Stagecraft is one of the conventions of drama refers to the dramatic devices used to grab the audience’s attention
and convey the playwright’s ideas.

Setting refers to the time and place of a literary work that establish its context. Subject is what a story or play is
about.

Subplot refers to a subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a play or story that coexists with the main plot.

Symbol is the object or action in a literary work that means more than itself.

Themes are interpreted based on the expectations of the audience that revolve around the external and internal
conflicts of the characters.

(Some words listed above maybe encountered on the next topics)

CREATIVE NONFICTION: An Overview

 The Creative Nonfiction (CNF) genre can be rather elusive. It is focused on story, meaning it has a narrative plot
with an inciting moment, rising action, climax and denouement, just like fiction. However, nonfiction only works
if the story is based in truth, an accurate retelling of the author’s life experiences. The pieces can vary greatly in
length, just as fiction can; anything from a book-length autobiography to a 500-word food blog post can fall
within the genre.

 The nonfiction genre depends on the writer’s ability to render their voice in a realistic fashion, just as poetry so
often does.
Writer Richard Terrill, in comparing the two forms (essay and poem), writes that the voice in
creative nonfiction aims “to engage the empathy” of the reader; that, much like a poet, the writer uses
“personal candor” to draw the reader in.

So what, then, makes the literary nonfiction genre unique?

 The first key element of nonfiction—perhaps the most crucial thing— is that the genre relies on the author’s
ability to retell events that actually happened. The talented CNF writer will certainly use imagination and craft
to relay what has happened and tell a story, but the story must be true.
You may have heard the idiom that “truth is stranger than fiction;” this is an essential part of the genre. Events
—coincidences, love stories, stories of loss—that may be expected or feel clichéd in fiction can be respected
when they occur in real life.

 A writer of Creative Nonfiction should always be on the lookout for material that can yield an essay; the world
at-large is their subject matter. Additionally, because Creative Nonfiction is focused on reality, it relies on
research to render events as accurately as possible.
What is Non-Fiction?

 Most readers encounter non-fiction on a daily basis via traditional journalistic outlets, such as newspapers.
 In essence, non-fiction is any writing which uses real-world facts as its material, and non-fiction’s focus is to
clearly present such facts.
 Traditional journalism, technical textbooks, and academic works of any subject are good examples of non-
fiction in its standard form.

What is Creative Nonfiction?

 Creative nonfiction, in contrast, places its focus on literary construction and storytelling elements.
 Creative nonfiction is a genre of nonfiction writing that incorporates different creative writing techniques and
literary styles to convey truthful, non-fictional narratives. Creative nonfiction writing tends to emphasize
story and tone over more traditional subgenres of nonfiction. Creative nonfiction writers often approach their
subject matter through a more emotional lens than other nonfiction writers like journalists and academic
writers.
 Like a novelist, creative nonfiction writers (when writing narrative nonfiction) are focused on creating
compelling, artful narratives within which to convey real-world facts and events.
 The focus for a creative nonfiction writer is on storytelling, and the personal essay, memoir and feature
writing are all examples of creative nonfiction.

Forms in the Genres

o Personal Essays
o Memoir
o Travel Writing
o Food Writing
o Biography
o Literary Journalism
o Other essays

ACTIVITY 1: (100 points)

 RUBRIC:

Content - 50%
Creativity - 20%
Clarity - 15%
Grammar - 15%
TOTAL - 100%
TBH with Maám Julie: Getting to know you! (Autobiography)

ACTIVITY: (100 POINTS)

Introduce yourself creatively and uniquely in an essay form. The contents of your essay are:

1. Personal Information – name, origin of name, age, birthday, address, name of parents and siblings
2. Interests- Favorites (band/singer, songs, color, food, books)
3. Passion – What I love to do? What I want to be in my life? (e.g. singing, dancing, painting, traveling,
writing, etc.)
4. Goal – goal for myself and goal for my family
5. A quote/line/saying/bible verse that I lived by- Give one and expound why you choose it.

Types of Character

A. Major characters
These are the most important characters in the story. There are two types, of which there may be a couple for each.

 Protagonist – This is the main character, around which the whole story revolves. The decisions made by
this character will be affected by a conflict from within, or externally through another character, nature,
technology, society, or the fates/God.

Example: For Filipino teleseryes: Ricardo Dalisay of Ang Probinsyano

For international movies and or series: Lucifer Morningstar of Lucifer

 Antagonist – This character, or group of characters, causes the conflict for the protagonist. However,
the antagonist could be the protagonist, who is torn by a problem within. Most times, something external is
causing the problem. A group of people causing the conflict would be considered society, perhaps the members
of a team, community, or institution. Additionally, the antagonist could be a part of nature, such as an animal, the
weather, a mountain or lake. A different kind of antagonist would be an item such as a pen, car, phone, carpet,
etc. These are all considered technology, since they are instruments or tools to complete a job. Finally, if the
conflict comes from something out of the character’s control, the antagonist is fate or God.

Example: Lord Voldemort of Harry Potter novel of J.K. Rowling

 B. Minor characters
These are the other characters in a story. They are not as important as the major characters, but still play a large part
in the story. Their actions help drive the story forward. They may impact the decisions the protagonist or antagonist
make, either helping or interfering with the conflict.

Characters can have different traits. Major characters will usually be more dynamic, changing and growing through
the story while minor characters may be more static.

 Foil – A foil is a character that has opposite character traits from another, meant to help highlight or bring
out another’s positive or negative side. A foil exists simply to shine the spotlight on certain traits of another
character, without necessarily creating an opposition or conflict. A literary foil is a character whose purpose is to
accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of another character.

Example: (1) Dr. John Watson, for example is a foil to Sherlock Holnes in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s
Sherlock Holmes stories.

(2) J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy is a classic foil. Both Draco and Harry are wizards,
but Malfoy’s lust for evil reinforces Harry’s determination to use his power for good. Malfoy sometimes
doubles as the antagonist, blocking Harry’s quest to kill Lord Voldemort and avenge his parents’ murders.

 Static – Characters who are static do not change throughout the story. Their use may simply be to create or
relieve tension, or they were not meant to change. A major character can remain static through the whole story.

Example: The wicked stepsisters of Cinderella are static character to the sweet and kind Cinderella.

 Dynamic – Dynamic characters change throughout the story. They may learn a lesson, become bad, or
change in complex ways.

Example: Ebenezer Scroog. In Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, Scrooger begins as a cruel, miserly man,
turning away family members and refusing to donate to the poor. By the end of the story, he has faced
significant internal conflict and has grown into a giving person, sending a turkey to his employee and dining
with his nephew’s family.

 Flat – A flat character has one or two main traits, usually only all positive or negative. They are the opposite of a
round character. The flaw or strength has its use in the story. They are often referred to as one or two
dimensional characters, usually having one perspective or point of view about life, things, or events. The role of
a flat character is to help the main character in pursuing his ambitions and goals.

Example: In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” the mute servant, Ivan, is a flat character. His
personality is limited to being the strong yet unintelligent servant of the General Zaroff.

 Round – These are the opposite of the flat character. These characters have many different traits, good and
bad, making them more interesting. A round character is more complex and like a real person, the character has
depth and emotion.

Example: Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird is a round character. Through Scout’s complex thoughts and feelings
as a young girl navigating the Jim Crow South, the reader comes to understand the unfair nature of Tom
Robinson’s trial and the complexity of human nature and society.

 Stock – These are the stereotypical characters. These characters are types and not individuals. Stock
characters are based on clichés and social prejudices.

Example: the boy genius, ambitious career person, faithful sidekick, mad scientist, the dumb blonde, the
mean stepmother, the loyal servant, the abusive boyfriend, the evil dictator.
The Importance of Character

Characters are what make stories. Without a character, there is no story to tell, only a lot of scenery. Many
characters in literature, television series, and movies have a huge impact on people. Some people like to live their
lives through these characters, which appear to have more exciting lives.  Also, these characters may seem so real
and inspirational, that people forget they are fictional.

Characters become so important to the audience, that cities across the country hold conventions in which people pay
a lot of money to dress and act as their favorite characters from multiple types of shows, particularly of the comic
magazine genre (type of literature)

ACTIVITY:

Provide answers for each task that is given. Write your answer on a separate paper (bond paper).

1. If you are given a chance to be a character or an actor/actress and is given an option among the types of
characters, what would be your pick? Expound your answer by indicating the role you want to be and the
reason why you choose it. (25 points)
2. Choose a recent Filipino drama or teleserye . Classify on what type of character they portray in the drama.
Explain their roles and how it is classified in that particular type of character. (25 points)
3. Look around you. How do the people you see reveal hints of character in their dress and external
appearances? What can you learn about creating character from this? (25 points)