A gerund is basically a verb that ends in ‘ing’
For example : James loves singing.
The answer to the literature question you have presented above would be character, plot, and setting. The three basic elements of all novels are plot, character, and setting. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the very successful novel in 1852 using these basic elements.
So no one has to see the food being chewed up in your mouth, obviously
