The document defines the novel and discusses its key characteristics and elements. It begins by defining a novel as a lengthy prose narrative driven by character actions and thoughts. It then discusses some key aspects of novels like having a believable plot, well-defined characters, and a sense of realism. The document also outlines different genres of novels like mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, westerns, horror, thrillers, romance, and historical fiction. It concludes by detailing important elements that make up novels, such as plot, characters, setting, point of view, dialogue, conflict, and resolution.

1. Theory of Novel
By- Dr.Maya Mainkar

2. Definition of Novel or Fiction
A fiction is a prose narrative of considerable
length, typically having a plot that is unfolded
by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the
characters.
2. The literary genre represented by novels
Derived form the Italian word 'novella', the
formalized term, "novel," was not used until end
of the 18th century. In its infancy, the term was
used during the Medieval Period as a literary
classification to describe a shortened tale that
relayed a generalized sentiment reflective of the
society-at-large.

3. Characteristics of Novel
1. A Unified , believable plot structure
2. Well defined Reliable Characters
3. A strong feeling of reality

4. The novel has included an extensive range of types nd
styles: picaresque, epistolary, Gothic, romantic,
realist, historical—to name only some of the more
important ones. he picaresque novel (Spanish:
picaresca, from pícaro, for "rogue" or "rascal") is a
genre of prose fiction that depicts the adventures of a
roguish, but "appealing hero", of low social class,
who lives by his wits in a corrupt society.

5. •Mysteries - A mystery is about a crime, usually a murder, and the process
of discovering who committed it. The hero(ine) is usually a detective or
an amateur doing detective work
•Science fiction - Science fiction is fiction that imagines possible
alternatives to reality. It is reality + "What-if." For example: What if the
world ended? What if there were life on other planets? The imaginary part
of science fiction is based on known scientific facts. For example, if there
is time travel in a science fiction book, it would be done with technology,
not by waving a magic wand.

6. Fantasy - Like science fiction, fantasy is about
imaginary worlds. But the imaginary part of
fantasy novels usually involves magic, where
the imaginary part of science fiction involves
science or technology.
Westerns - Westerns normally take place in the
Western U.S. (although sometimes in other
locations), most often during the 19th century.
Common elements include cowboys, ranchers,
the difficulties of frontier life, frontier justice,
and conflicts between natives and settlers.

7. •Horror - Horror fiction gets its name because it
is focused on creating emotions of terror and
dread in the reader. Horror fiction often
accomplishes this through the use of scary
supernatural elements or gore, but, according to
the Horror Writers Association, these elements
are not required.
•
Thrillers - Like horror, a thriller gets its name
because of the feeling it creates in the reader.
Thrillers are designed to make the reader's pulse
race, to keep him or her turning pages. Often
thrillers are about a crime that is going to be
committed or a disaster that is going to
happen... if the hero(ine) doesn't prevent it.
•

8. Romance - Romance fiction is about love and
passion. Normally, the focus is on two
characters who fall in love but have problems or
obstacles keeping them apart, and there is a
happy ending.
Historical - Historical novels are set in a past
time period, normally at least fifty years before
they were written. They combine a made-up
story with realistic details of that time period

9. Elements of a novel: Plot
•Plot is what happens in a work of fiction, and the order that it
happens in.
For a work of fiction to be worth reading, something has to
happen by the end. You have to take the reader to from Point A
to Point B. This journey might be:
a change in the character (for example, the character matures or
overcomes a challenge).
•
a change in the situation
a change in the readers' understanding (for example, in the
beginning, readers think the protagonist was falsely accused of
murder, and at the end, readers understand that he is guilty).
Your novel's plot is the roadmap you will take from Point A to
Point B.

10. Elements of a novel: Character
Characters are the imaginary people you write
about in your fiction or drama. Examples of
fictional characters: Harry Potter, King Lear,
Othello,Hamlet, Oliver Twist, Cinderella.
The main character of your story is called
the protagonist
E. M. Forester makes a distinction between flat
and round characters. Flat characters are types
or caricatures defined by a single idea of
quality, whereas round characters have the
three-dimensional complexity of real people.

11. Elements of a novel: Setting
•Setting is where your novel takes place. Your setting might be a
room, a forest, a battlefield, a spaceship...
Setting can:
Create atmosphere for your fiction, help your reader imagine the
scenes.
•
Convey information about a character. For example, if your
character's life is in chaos, you could express this by showing her
in her messy home.
•
Provide plot opportunities. For example, if your setting is a Florida
swamp, and you put a hungry alligator in your character's path,
then something interesting is likely to happen.

12. Elements of a novel: Point of View
•Narrative point of view is the perspective from which you tell
a work of fiction. From what angle do the readers see the
action? Are they at the police station? Looking over the
murderer's shoulder? Inside the murderer's brain?
Another way to think of point of view: If your novel were a
movie, the point of view would be the location of the camera.
Your narrator is the voice that's telling the story.
A first-person narrator tells the story using the words "I" and
"me," as if he/she were actually there.
•
A third-person narrator tells the story from the outside and
doesn't use the word "I" and "me" to describe the story's
events because he or she isn't a participant. Instead, this type
of narrator describes the characters as "he/him" or "she/her,"
etc.

13. Elements of a novel: Dialogue
Dialogue is your characters' conversation presented directly on
the page. If I tell you that Marcia asked John out, that's not
dialogue. Dialogue is when I show it to you in Marcia's exact
words. Example: "Want to go to a movie?" Marcia asked John.
Dialogue tags are phrases such as "he said," and "Marcia asked
John," which let your reader know which character is speaking at
each point in the dialogue. You don't have to use dialogue tags
when it's clear who's speaking without them.

14. CONFLICT Every story has a conflict to solve. The
plot is centered on this conflict and the ways in
which the characters attempt to resolve the problem.
When the story’s action becomes most exciting, right
before the resolution, it is called the climax.
RESOLUTION The solution to the problem is the
way the action is resolved. For example, Katie often
resolves a conflict by finding a compromise for two
fighting characters or helping fix any mistakes she
made while switching her role into someone else. It
is important that the resolution fit the rest of the
story in tone and creativity and solve all parts of the
conflict.

15. Style -- The author’s type of diction (choice of words),
syntax (arrangement of words), and other linguistic
features of a work.
Theme(s) -- The central and dominating idea (or ideas) in a
literary work. The term also indicates a message or moral
implicit in any work of art.

16. Thank You