October Novel Prep Challenge

I'm answering your questions out of order because it helps my segue at the end.

1. I think this is an example of repeated designation, not Chekhov's gun. Chekhov's gun usually solves a problem. Repeated designation emphasizes a point, such as the fact that getting a GED is important.

Have you ever watched Psych? That show uses Chekov's gun every episode. The main character is highly observant, and the camera zooms in on some little detail that he notices, like a toothpick on the floor. Then later, when he's observing another crime scene, there's another toothpick on the floor and voila! He solves the crime. This just happens to be my latest binge but I'm using it as an example of Chekhov's gun that's completely different from an actual gun coming to the rescue of someone in danger. The point of this device is: the reader becomes aware of something early on, ideally forgets that they were aware of it, and then later, that something conveniently reappears to solve some sort of problem for the characters.

2. Repeated designations do not have to be persons or objects. They can also be ideas. However, I don't think your noodle incidents are repeated designations. A repeated designation is when you drill the same thing into your reader's brain in order to make it stick there. I think your noodle incidents are actually a literary device of their own. TV tropes are kind of like the literary devices of the screen.

3. Sure, that's an allusion.

4. Regarding your "false epiphany" and really all the other questions you asked... You're working too hard at this. This isn't lit class LOL. This is novel prep. The literary devices are another tool to help you brainstorm new ideas for your plot. For this exercise, you're not supposed to take your existing plot and find literary devices that you already managed to ingrain in there. You're supposed to read the list of literary devices and go, could I use that somehow? And then brainstorm ways that maybe you could use that, and then if all goes well you get another idea or two or 12 to help build out your outline.

The literary devices come immediately after the complications for a reason. On the complications day, you're supposed to create all kinds of problems for your characters, and presumably some of them will be unsolvable problems. Then on literary devices day you think, oh wait, if I just planted a Chekhov's gun in chapter 2, then I could solve this problem I created on complications day later in chapter 17.

Personally, my Chekhov's gun this year was a whole new character. He's a robot with superhuman capabilities, one of which is revealed early on and specifically needed later. Once I created this character, I was able to also use him as Deus ex Machina because he uses a secret capability, one the reader doesn't know about, to solve another problem.

But to be clear, not every literary device solves a complication. Literary devices like repeated designation and symbolism can emphasize your theme. Foreshadowing can create a sense of mystery. The literary devices exercise is very flexible and intended to help every author, regardless of their project and writing style, to brainstorm new ways to build out and improve their novel project. It's not really about properly identifying the literary device so much as allowing the list to help you craft your story.

You get an A+ for the great question. 😁

Cheers,
Michelle