Plot Device
Literary Devices and Techniques
Temporal Devices
Flashback
A glimpse into the past
Example: A character smells a familiar perfume, remembering a lost love, then snaps back to reality.
Flashbacks are powerful tools for revealing character backstory and motivations. They can be triggered by sensory experiences, objects, or situations that remind the character of past events.
Flash-Forward
A peek into the future
Example: A fortune teller shows a character their future success, then returns to the present moment.
Flash-forwards create anticipation and can foreshadow future events. They're often used to build tension or provide a glimpse of potential consequences.
Backstory
Character history revealed
Example: A hero's fear of water is explained by a childhood near-drowning incident.
Backstory provides depth to characters and explains their current behaviors or motivations. It can be revealed through dialogue, flashbacks, or narrative exposition.
Start in the Middle
Beginning with action
Example: A car chase opens the story, then rewinds to explain how it began.
Starting in the middle, also known as "in medias res," grabs the reader's attention immediately and creates curiosity about how the situation arose.
Foreshadowing and Misdirection
Foreshadowing
Subtle future hints
Example: A character casually mentions their peanut allergy, which later becomes crucial to the plot.
Foreshadowing creates anticipation and helps to tie the story together. It can be subtle or more obvious, depending on the author's intention.
Red Herring
False lead
Example: A mysterious character acts suspiciously but turns out to be unrelated to the crime.
Red herrings are often used in mystery and thriller genres to mislead readers and create suspense. They can make the resolution more satisfying by challenging the reader's expectations.
Chekhov's Gun
Significant setup
Example: A character receives a gift of a pocket watch, which later stops a bullet.
Chekhov's Gun is a principle that states every element in a story must be necessary. If a gun is shown in Act One, it must be fired by Act Three.
Narrative Structure
Framing
Story within a story
Example: A grandmother tells her grandchild a bedtime story about her own childhood.
Framing devices can add depth to a story, provide context, or offer different perspectives on the main narrative.
Unreliable Narrator
Questionable storyteller
Example: A character claims to be innocent, but their actions suggest otherwise.
Unreliable narrators can create suspense, mystery, or humor. They challenge readers to question the narrative and draw their own conclusions.
Hook
Engaging opening
Example: "The day I died was the best day of my life."
A strong hook captures the reader's attention and encourages them to continue reading. It can be a surprising statement, a question, or an intriguing scenario.
Plot Elements
Ticking Time Bomb
Urgent deadline
Example: A bomb is set to explode in 24 hours, and the hero must disarm it.
The ticking time bomb creates tension and urgency, driving the plot forward and keeping readers engaged.
MacGuffin
Plot-driving object
Example: Characters chase after a mysterious briefcase throughout the story.
A MacGuffin motivates characters and drives the plot, but its specific nature is often unimportant to the overall story.
Plot Voucher
Future-use setup
Example: A character learns lockpicking in chapter one, which saves them in the finale.
Plot vouchers, when used effectively, can create satisfying resolutions and demonstrate character growth or preparedness.
Literary Techniques
Poetic Justice
Fitting consequence
Example: A cheating spouse is caught due to their own elaborate lie.
Poetic justice satisfies readers' sense of fairness and can provide a moral lesson within the story.
Quibble
Wordplay resolution
Example: A character promises their "right hand" but gives a prosthetic instead of betraying an ally.
Quibbles can add humor or cleverness to a story, often providing unexpected resolutions to seemingly impossible situations.
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