Most fictional (and non-fictional) stories follow a recognisable pattern. One pattern that is familiar to readers is the five-stage story arc. This structure is also used in films and television ...

His books include Conrad's Narrative Method and Narrative in Fiction and Film (both from Oxford University Press) and he is coeditor of four volumes in the “Theory and Interpretation of Narrative” ...

Fiction tends to use language that is more descriptive and often poetic. In a story or novel, the first paragraph has a lot of work to do. It needs to grab the readers’ attention and hook them ...