SpaceAce - October Prep Month

October 17th, 2017 - Literary Devices

Oct. 17: - Literary Devices ▼

(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: http://literary-devices.com/



Literary Devices List
Foreshadowing: Hints of something to come.

There are a lot of hints in his novel. After all, this is a murder mystery.

Chekhov's Gun: The gun on the wall in Scene 1 is eventually fired.

The weapon that killed Ovven was Villiam’s personal weapon. That’s why everyone thinks that he did it.

Repetitive Designation: An object or fact appears over and over.

Several times the Death Weapon comes into question. It’s even seen a few times too.

Symbolism: Small facts, objects, or characterizations represent something bigger.

I try to keep my readers in suspense. And there are several ways to do that.

Self-fulfilling prophecy: Protagonist he attempts to thwart prophecy but in attempting, fulfills it.

Gracea always figured out who the killer is. But it’s often not the first one that she thinks that it is.

Poetic Justice: Good guys are rewarded and bad guys are punished.

Maybe they aren’t rewarded. But they are punished.

Plot Twist: Surprises the reader with something unexpected.

I’m always trying to surprise my readers. I think it keeps the reader reading.

False Protagonist: The protagonist dies or turns out to be something other than the protagonist.

Villiam and Gracea aren’t a false protagonist. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be.

Red Herring: A false trail diverts the reader's attention from what really happened.

Gracea is always following red Herrings. But she can’t figure out who the killer is if she doesn’t take some chances every so often.

Unreliable Narrator: The narrator has been misleading the reader all along.

Misleading the reader is what makes the read a lot better. At least that’s what I think.

Irony: The exact opposite of what the reader expects happens.

I’m a big fan of surprising readers. I do it as ofen as I can.

Reveal: A hidden connection between characters or facts is revealed in time.

There is no hidden connection between Villiam and Gracea. But there are some characters that do.

Plot Device: Advances the plot forward, often pushing the main character past a hurdle.

Villiam does have a hurdle he passes. But it’s not the only one that he passes.

Object of Power: Either the protagonist wants it, or the object drives the plot of its own accord.

Of course, Villiam wants to be a SpaceAce. But first he has to become a Pilot Fighers.

MacGuffin: Something the protagonist wants for unknown and unimportant reasons.

Gracea isn’t just trying to figure out who killed Ovven because of Villiam. But we don’t know what that is, yet.

Quibble: Following the letter of the law, contract, or agreement instead of its intent, changing the outcome.

Ovven always followed the rules. But we don’t know that yet either.

Narrative Hook: Story opening that grab's the reader's attention.

I always try to hook my readings with my first paragraph. And most of the time it’s action related.

Cliffhanger: Ending a scene, chapter or story in the middle of action, hooking the reader.

I’m a big fan of cliffhangers. I try to end all of my chapters with a cliffhanger.

Ticking Clock Scenario: The threat of impending doom if the protagonist's objective is not met.

The threat of death looms over Gracea all the time. And at least once in every novel she faces death.

Breaking the Fourth Wall: A character speaks directly to the reader.

I don’t do that with my novels. Maybe someday I will, but I don’t think so.

Or anything from this list: http://literary-devices.com/

Can’t think of anything else to add. But if I do I will add it later.