In section four of Poetics, Aristotle addresses mimesis. The origin of poetry can be traced to the innate drive or instinct  of humans to imitate (mimesis) and the pleasure we take in mimesis (whether it is of the familiar or of the unfamiliar)

In the case of the unfamiliar, we take pleasure in the aesthetics of the mimesis. Humans have an innate need to create harmony and rhythm. When these two needs were joined with mimesis, poetry emerged.

Aristotle's idea of imitation is in opposition to Plato.

Plato’s theory of Mimesis is that  all art is mimetic by nature; art is an imitation of life. He believed that ‘idea’ is the ultimate reality. Think of a carpenter and a chair. The idea of chair came in the carpenter’s mind. She gives it physical shape and creates it.  The painter imitates the actual chair. Thus, painter’s chair is twice removed from reality. So, Plato says that  art is twice removed from reality. Philosophy  because it deals with ideas, is most important. Poetry, which  uses illusion – things which are twice removed from reality. To Plato, philosophy is superior to poetry. Plato rejects poetry as it is mimetic.

A narrative consists of three parts: beginning, middle, and end.

There are six tools storytellers use to convey a narrative:

1. Who is involved. This covers the people important to the event, including the teller of the story.

2. What happened. In fiction this is called plot.

3. When the events happened. This can include the specific date and time, as well as how much time is covered in the story.

4. Where the events happened. This is sometimes called setting.

5. Why the events happened

6. How the storyteller reveals this information--or structure.

Nonfiction writing often utilizes research. It takes many forms, including:

• Interviewing people involved

• Reading other accounts of the event

• Reading scientific papers about event components.

• Looking at photos

• Reading diary entries

• Looking on google maps to see what a space looks like

• Self excavation of all the relevant memories of an event

• Collecting data about the event or topic and analyzing it.

• Analyzing existing data