(1) Brainstorm possible solutions to your conflict and complications using the list of literary devices below or your own ideas.
(2) Identify a mentor or helper who aids the protagonist(s) in achieving their goals.
(3) Identify any other literary devices from the list you could use to enhance your writing.
Literary Devices List
~ Foreshadowing: Hints of something to come.
~ Chekhov's Gun: The gun on the wall in Scene 1 is eventually fired.
~ Repetitive Designation: An object or fact appears over and over.
~ Symbolism: Small facts, objects, or characterizations represent something bigger.
~ Self-fulfilling prophecy: Protagonist attempts to thwart prophecy but in attempting, fulfills it.
~ Poetic Justice: Good guys are rewarded and bad guys are punished.
~ Plot Twist: Surprises the reader with something unexpected.
~ False Protagonist: The protagonist dies or turns out to be something other than the protagonist.
~ Red Herring: A false trail diverts the reader's attention from what really happened.
~ Unreliable Narrator: The narrator has been misleading the reader all along.
~ Irony: The exact opposite of what the reader expects happens.
~ Reveal: A hidden connection between characters or facts is revealed in time.
~ Plot Device: Advances the plot forward, often pushing the main character past a hurdle.
~ Object of Power: Either the protagonist wants it, or the object drives the plot of its own accord.
~ MacGuffin: Something the protagonist wants for unknown and unimportant reasons.
~ Quibble: Following the letter of the law, contract, or agreement instead of its intent, changing the outcome.
~ Narrative Hook: Story opening that grab's the reader's attention.
~ Cliffhanger: Ending a scene, chapter or story in the middle of action, hooking the reader.
~ Ticking Clock Scenario: The threat of impending doom if the protagonist's objective is not met.
~ Breaking the Fourth Wall: A character speaks directly to the reader.
~ Or anything from this list:
literary devices