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I am using a documentary as inspiration for a fiction story I am writing.

Some elements of fiction are stated Here and Here, although there's all kinds of stuff like archetypes etc.. Some of the elements of documentaries are Here:

My few questiosn are

1.I know their is no definate answer, but is thier an approach to finding the elements of a documentary that may be similiar to those elements that make up ficton and use them?

2.)Will the elements that make up fiction not be exactly the same as that in a documentary?

3.) Also, are the elements of documentaries ( given in the third link) not very useful as inspiration for a fiction story?

4.) You can use the what elements of fiction are stated black and white, use those that are infered by what's given black and white, use a little of both or use some of both and make up the rest that is not clearly stated or inferable... My fourth question is, is what order you use have benefits?

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First: Your question lacks formatting. I can fix that. Second: Your question lacks clarity. Could you fix that please before I fix the formatting? What does "Is their the elements of a fiction story in a documentary I can use as well as inspiration" mean? Are you asking how to get inspired or how to research or how to start writing or what? – John Smithers Dec 13 '12 at 12:01
@JohnSmithers Thanks for addressing that, I was pressed for time. I fixed the format and the clarity. Feel free to now respond. – Chris Okyen Dec 13 '12 at 23:59
I'm sorry, Chris, but I'm having a lot of trouble understanding what you're asking here. I can see you want to discuss the relationship between documentaries and fiction, as these are two different mediums which use many of the same tools. But I'm not managing to understand from your question what it is you're trying to understand about this relationship. Stack Exchange is a format for solving practical problems and questions - we don't really work for discussions with broad scope, even on an interesting subject (as in "I'm dealing with [subject], what do you think about [subject]?"). – Standback♦ Dec 14 '12 at 11:35
@Standback from the two mediums i want to figure out how to take c – Chris Okyen Dec 14 '12 at 22:42
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I'm closing this question because it's very confusing and also very broad. Please consider focusing the question, possibly choosing one single aspect of it and expanding on it. It would also be helpful if you could be more specific about what exactly it is that you're trying to do. USe the structure of a documentary for inspiration? Searching for structural guidance? Or are you more concerned with archetypes? – Neil Fein♦ Dec 16 '12 at 3:21
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closed as not a real question by Neil Fein♦ Dec 16 '12 at 3:22

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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I do not believe that you need to "incorporate the five elements I listed for documentaries" into your fiction. If you try, then you will produce a documentary (or at least, fiction about producing a documentary).

If your first decision is to switch the genre, then you cannot retain the features characteristic of the form that you are trying to move away from.

What you need to do is to look beyond the five elements of documentary to see the situation that is being reported and then extract the elements of fiction from it.

In some cases, you can use the documentary form as a guide. Look at the subjects of the "interviews" and decide which of them will be your characters. Decide which juxtapositions of characters are set up by the use of "cutaways" and use one or more of them to identify your underlying conflict.

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