What do you call the non-narrative aspects of a novel?

Question

There are different aspects in a novel and one of the major aspects is the narrative aspect of a novel. What do you call the other aspects? I am thinking non-narrative, but non-narrative aspects of a novel is vague and non-descript. I, honestly, don't know what all of the aspects are, but I think there's only one another aspect aside the narrative aspect of a novel and that it encompasses worldbuilding, so that's why I wouldn't choose "non-narrative" as an adjective.

What would be a better word than "non-narrative"?

Answer 1

Typically, there are two words used to refer to the two main writing aspects of a novel. The narrative describes what's happening, and the dialogue represents what the characters are saying:

[Merriam-Webster]

3 : the conversational element of literary or dramatic composition
// very little dialogue in this film
// writes realistic dialogue

---

Everything in a novel, as a story, can be described as narrative, but normally a clear distinction is made between narrative and dialogue. In visual media, such as movies, TV shows, and plays, dialogue is commonly contrasted with action rather than narrative.