TL;DR: Fiction is built from three core elements—character, plot, and setting—plus nine supporting elements (point of view, goal, stakes, rising action, falling action, symbols, voice, theme, and truth) and one bonus element: change. Master all 13 and you have everything you need to write a story readers can't put down. Below, we break down each one with examples from books like Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Where the Crawdads Sing.
There are 13 elements of fiction that are crucial to captivating storytelling. It may feel like a lot to learn, but every one of them is learnable, and once you see them at work in your favorite books, you'll start spotting them everywhere.
When I wrote my first novel, I didn't know much about character development or plot structure. I knew creativity was a skill to build, but I didn't know how to build it, beyond practice.
Then I entered a mentorship with a New York Times bestselling author. Through his guidance, I made it through the learning curve, and today I've written numerous books, taught at writing conferences, and coach fiction writers full time.
If I can go from novice writer to writing coach, you can learn these 13 elements of fiction too. selfpublishing.com has helped 7,000+ authors write, publish, and market their books—teaching this exact framework is our job. All you have to do is pay attention. Ready?
What are the elements of fiction?
The elements of fiction are the building blocks every story needs: character, plot, and setting at the core, with 9 additional elements—point of view, goal, stakes, rising action, falling action, symbols, voice, theme, and truth—that separate a forgettable draft from a bestseller.
Strip a story down to its bare essentials and you're left with three things. Every story happens somewhere (setting). Every story is made of things that happen (plot). And every story needs someone to experience those things (character).
But if you actually want to make money publishing fiction, stopping at those three elements isn't enough. The 12 elements below (plus one bonus element my mentor swears by) are what turn a technically-complete story into one readers can't put down.
What are the 12 elements of a story?
The 12 elements of fiction are protagonist and antagonist, plot, setting, point of view, goal, stakes, rising action, falling action, symbols, voice, theme, and truth. A 13th bonus element—change—is what separates a good story from one that stays with readers for years.
1. Protagonist and antagonist
Your protagonist is the character readers experience the story through, and your antagonist is the force that tests them. Both need to feel like real people, not stereotypes.
Aim for a "round character," a protagonist who feels human and completes a full character arc by the story's end.
Great characters have:
- Clear interests
- Believable motivations
- Complex, contradictory characteristics
Just as no real person fits in a single box, your characters shouldn't either. The same is true for your antagonist—a flat villain flattens your whole story.
Give your protagonist a worthy opponent. Imagine if Frodo only had to defeat another hobbit instead of Sauron: the entire trilogy would lose its stakes. (A version of this actually happens when Sméagol steals the Ring from a friend—the scene barely registers because the threat is so small.) Your antagonist reveals the strength of your protagonist, so make them worthy of the fight.
Want to go deeper on casting your story? See our full breakdown of character types, and use our 200-question character bio template to build protagonists and antagonists readers won't forget.
2. Plot
Plot is what happens in your story—the chain of events that moves the reader from page one to the end. The clearest way to build it: ask "if ___ happens, what's the effect?"
Your answer to that "if" question should be whichever option best propels the story forward while keeping your protagonist proactive, not passive.
For example: if you're writing a modern survival story, what happens if your character breaks their leg? That adds conflict, but it can also stall your plot—now your character is stuck waiting to heal instead of making choices.
Instead, what if your protagonist stumbles onto someone else with a broken leg? Now you've got layered conflict and a proactive choice for your protagonist to make.
3. Setting
Setting is where and when your story takes place, and it shapes your story's entire tone. This is your story world, whether that's a real city or an invented one.
You don't need Tolkien-level depth, but whether you're writing a fantasy novel or a modern romance, orient yourself to your story's surroundings so you can orient your reader.
Once you choose your setting, nail down the details: the specific places your character exists. Writing realistic fiction? Decide on a city or state and ask what life is like there, and how its specific struggles shape your story.
Writing fantasy? You've got worldbuilding to do—and geography matters. A port city looks nothing like a desert city, and neither looks like a village in the tropics.
4. Point of view
Point of view (POV) is the lens readers experience your story through, and it decides who they empathize with. The right POV can make a reader root for a character they'd otherwise despise.
Reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes—narrated by future-villain President Snow—is a masterclass in this. Suzanne Collins gets readers to empathize with the villain, purely through POV choice.
First person
First person uses "I" and creates intimacy. It's common in young adult fiction (Divergent) and character-driven fiction generally.
Second person
Second person uses "you" as the main character. It's often confused with epistolary novels, but the distinction is simple: in second person, "you" is the protagonist. In an epistolary novel, "I" is the letter-writer addressing "you."
Third person limited
Third person limited follows one specific character using "he" or "she." Because the perspective is limited, readers only access that one character's thoughts.
Third person close
A subtype of third person limited—readers are inside the narrator's head as intensely as in first person, but using third person pronouns.
Third person omniscient
The only POV that lets readers see inside more than one character's head in a single scene. (New writers often slip into omniscient by accident—a strong editor will catch this.)
Omniscient is different from alternating POV across chapters—in alternating POV, each chapter still stays inside one character's perspective. Because omniscient shows every character's motives at once, it can be harder to build meaningful conflict—but it's not impossible.
Ready to build your fiction manuscript? Download these 200+ fiction writing prompts to get started.
5. Goal
A character's goal drives conflict, and it often differs from what they actually need. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko's goal is to recapture the Avatar and restore his honor. His need—the thing the story is really about—is to accept himself.
6. Stakes
Stakes are what your character loses if they fail to reach their goal—without them, goals fall flat. In Harry Potter, if Harry doesn't defeat Voldemort, Voldemort wins and Harry loses everything. That's what makes the goal matter.
7. Rising action
Rising action is the sequence of events that build in intensity toward your story's climax. Along with falling action, it's what propels your story toward its ending.
8. Falling action
Falling action is what happens after the climax, as you guide readers back to normal life. Think Frodo and Sam being rescued by the eagles, reunited with friends, and slowly adjusting to life without Sauron.
9. Symbols
Symbols are objects or images that carry meaning beyond their literal role in the story. Fantasy leans on symbols heavily (Harry's lightning-bolt scar), but every genre can use them: the feathers Tate gives Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing symbolize their friendship.
10. Voice
Voice is how you use words to tell your story—your diction and sentence structure. Of all 13 elements, voice may be the most personal and the hardest to fake.
Do you favor short, blunt sentences like Cormac McCarthy, or colorful, layered description like Donna Tartt?
To find your voice, read widely and read often. New writers tend to echo whatever they're reading, so read broadly to avoid locking into one influence too early.
Then practice writing constantly. The more you write, the faster you shake off other authors' styles and develop your own. Strengthening your verb choices is one of the fastest ways to sharpen your voice, since weak verbs are the most common thing dragging first drafts down.
11. Theme
Theme is the underlying idea your story keeps circling back to—the "what it's really about" beneath the plot. Many superhero stories share a theme of sacrifice: a hero gains power, but pays a personal cost for it.
The Lord of the Rings explores the toll of war: Frodo can't return to a normal life in the Shire after what he's experienced, and has to leave for the West to find peace.
Read broadly in your genre to learn the themes your readers expect. A cozy romance novel probably isn't the place for a gritty meditation on loss. (See our full breakdown of the 10 most common themes in literature for more.)
12. Truth
Truth means grounding your story in real human wants, needs, strengths, and weaknesses—not just surface-level plot. When you write, ask what your story means on a deeper, symbolic level, not just what happens.
What does your ending imply? How do your characters change, and what does that change say about the themes you're exploring?
13. Change (the bonus element)
Change—the possibility that your story shifts how the reader sees the world—is what separates a good story from a lasting one. It's rarely listed among the "official" elements of fiction, but it's the one my mentor insists matters most.
Yes, characters should grow and change within the story. But truly great fiction leaves the reader changed too, based on the universal truths the story reveals.
This doesn't mean hammering your theme (element 12) into readers' heads. It means letting your characters grow and stumble in ways readers recognize in themselves—and maybe even feel inspired by.
Common mistakes writers make with these elements
- Treating character and plot as separate problems. A strong plot without a character worth following (or vice versa) collapses fast. Build them together.
- Skipping stakes. A goal without consequences for failure reads as low-tension, even if the plot events themselves are dramatic.
- Confusing theme with a moral. Theme is what your story explores, not a lesson you're teaching. Readers can feel the difference.
- Ignoring voice until revision. Voice is easiest to build from your first draft forward. Trying to bolt it on afterward usually reads as inconsistent.
- Forgetting the reader's change. Writers spend so much energy on their character's arc that they forget fiction's real job: shifting how the reader sees something.
Frequently asked questions
What are the elements of fiction?
The elements of fiction are the building blocks every story needs: character, plot, and setting at the core, plus point of view, goal, stakes, rising action, falling action, symbols, voice, theme, truth, and change—13 elements in total.
What are the 12 elements of a story?
The 12 elements of a story are protagonist and antagonist, plot, setting, point of view, goal, stakes, rising action, falling action, symbols, voice, theme, and truth.
How many elements of fiction are there?
Most writing teachers cite 12 core elements. This guide adds a 13th, bonus element—change—because it's what makes a story memorable rather than just complete.
What are the 3 basic elements of fiction?
The 3 basic elements of fiction are character, plot, and setting. Every story needs someone (character) doing something (plot) somewhere (setting).
Your next step
Now that you know all 13 elements of fiction, it's time to put them to work. selfpublishing.com's Fundamentals of Fiction & Story program walks you step-by-step from a blank page to a published novel, with 1-on-1 coaching from a bestselling fiction author.
Not sure which path fits your goals? Schedule a free strategy call with our team.
This post was originally published on self-publishingschool.com and has been updated and migrated to selfpublishing.com.
