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December 03, 2008
Making a Novel
What follows is the list of devices my class and I came up with. There were a few repeated ones, but for the sake of space I have only listed them only once. What would you add to this list?
character, plot, language, conflict, resolution, scene, setting, theme, point of view, pacing, voice, dialogue, style, tone, detail, summary, exposition, chapters, rhythm, time (of day, of year, of life), structure, protagonist, antagonist, inciting incident, climax, mid-point, prologue, epilogue, double entendre, vernacular, structure, tension, suspense, story within a story, discomfort, context, seeming villains who turn out to be good guys, seeming good guys who turn out to be villains, description, historical period, biblical narrative form: ("and then and then and then..."), fantasy, fact, logic, dream sequence, "aha!" moment, McGuffin, red herring, discovery, desire, twist of fate, internal monologue, explanation, events, obstacles, eavesdroppers become involved in plot, autobiographical elements, prediction, magic, arbitrary action, humor, contrast (between characters, events, points of view), relationships, confession, events, growth, deus ex machina, references to literature or popular culture, innocents caught in a web of deceit, unreliable narrator, sex, perspective, flashback, slow motion, stasis, denouement, longing, motivation, beauty, surprise, sidekick, misunderstanding, secrets, entrances, exits, light
- Edan Lepucki @ 6:29 AM ~ comments: 5 ~ Links to this post
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Dave @ December 03, 2008 9:50 AMOthers: jump cut, time space/break, foreshadowing, repetition, recurring symbols and motifs, images, thematically consistent images, doubles (doppelgangers), mirror-image characters, return of the hero, love conquers all, allusion, the vast panoply of classical rhetorical devices (synecdoche, metonymy, etc.), use of mirrors in 1st person POV novels to describe the physical attributes of the narrator, dying confessions, transformation/transfiguration/change, epiphany/revelation/insight, aliens, evil albino monks, secret codes that only the protagonist can crack, letters, diaries, poetry, foreign language words, runes.
This is so much fun. I could go on and on...
elipses, lacunae, forgotten things, hidden things, false memories, historical events, apocalypses, frame stories, misunderstandings, bad choices, forgeries.
Please stop me...
Best,
Jim H.
Add
new and unique experiences, settings, times
interesting, wide cast of characters
@ December 05, 2008 1:10 AMSponsor:
