A novel is a complex piece of fiction. It spans many chapters and covers a great journey. All novels have common elements: characters, plot, setting, dialogue, theme, and a timeline. Each element has a specific job to help tell the story. The goal is to achieve what Samuel Coleridge Taylor called “that willing suspension of disbelief.”
The following are the elements of a novel and their purpose within its framework.
Characters: Characters are the core of a novel. They are the people who populate a story. Every story needs a central protagonist (the lead). This character must be someone the reader identifies with and be ready for a profound change. Side characters include the protagonist’s allies and mentors. Another important character is the antagonist. This character serves as the villain of the story, the person that opposes the lead’s efforts or goals in the story.
Plot: Plot is the journey the character travels to a satisfying end during the course of a novel. There are various options for structuring a novel, but the basics are this: The journey begins in the everyday world shortly before the moment when everything changes. The moment of change propels the protagonist forward. This journey includes rising action, setbacks, a point of no return and then more rising action, followed by a darkest moment. The rising action lifts to the highest place known as the climax. The climax is followed by tying up loose ends and coming to a resolution.
Setting: Setting serves as the place in space and time a novel is located. Effective settings invoke a reader’s five senses. Settings are brought to life with specific detail. They provide a backdrop for the characters and plot. They also serve to set the mood and tone of the story and can also be used to foreshadow events. Simple elements of the setting – such as a calling bird or the color blue (for example) -- are often repeated throughout the novel to help communicate the theme of a story.
Dialogue: Dialogue is the speech of the characters within the novel, but differs from everyday speech. No rambling is allowed. Dialogue helps to create the mood and tone, but it also reveals the desires and intents of characters and creates empathy within readers. It helps pace the story. Long blocks of text are broken up by the insertion of dialogue. It can also be used to remind the reader of important information.
Theme: Theme serves as the heart of the story. It’s the bigger picture behind the minute details of a novel. Theme communicates the ideas, messages, and morals of the author. In novels, themes are almost always delivered implicitly. A cohesive novel leads the reader to timelessness and over-arcing ideas without dipping into didacticism, better known as “preaching and teaching.”
Timeline: Timeline is the chronological piece of novels. Timelines bring cohesiveness and logic to a storyline. They help prevent silly mistakes that will bump the reader out of the story, such as a character being in two places at the same time.