This week: Literary Terms and Devices Edited by: Lilith🎄🦌Christmas Cheer  
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"The essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything."
~ Charles de Lint
"Fantasy is probably the oldest literary device for talking about reality."
~ Ursula K. Le Guin
"It is interesting to note that poetry, a literary device whose very construct involves the use of words, is itself the word of choice by persons grasping to describe something so beautiful it is marvelously ineffable."
~ Vanna Bonta
"The thing to remember when you're writing," he said, " is, it's not whether or not what you put on paper is true. It's whether it wakes a truth in your reader. I don't care what literary device you might use, or belief systems you tap into--if you can make a story true for the reader if you can give them a glimpse into another way of seeing the world, or another way that they can cope with their problems, then that story is a success."
~ Charles de Lint |
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This week let's cover a few terms that relate to our craft. Knowledge is power, as they say.
 Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning. Typically moral, spiritual, or political through the use of symbolic characters and events. A well-known story is “The Tortoise and The Hare” is a great example of allegory with a moral that a slow and steady approach (symbolized by the Tortoise) is better than a hasty and overconfident approach (symbolized by the Hare).
Allegories use symbolism heavily, however, not all writing that uses symbolism qualifies as allegory. Allegories are characterized by symbolism that permeates the entire story, to the extent that essentially all major characters and their actions can be understood as having symbolic significance.
Dénouement
The dénouement is the last section of a story’s plot, in which loose ends are tied up, lingering questions are answered, and a sense of resolution is achieved. The shortest and most well-known dénouement is “And they lived happily ever after.” Most stories, however, require a longer concluding section to achieve a sense of resolution.
The dénouement follows the story’s falling action section, in which the tension stemming from the story’s major conflict winds down.
It would be easy to think that the word “dénouement” is just a fancy way of saying “ending”, and in many ways, that’s close to the truth. But dénouement is a specific word that has to do with achieving a sense of resolution and showing the outcome of the story’s main events. While many endings do this, not all of them do.
The falling action is the portion of the story that follows the climax and ends with a resolution of the plot’s central conflict or tension. However, the falling action generally doesn’t answer all the questions that arose during the rising action or tie up all the loose ends, and this is where the dénouement comes in. It ties up loose ends, answers unanswered questions, and can also serve as an epilogue.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don’t occur until later in the story. By making explicit statements or leaving subtle clues about what will happen later in the story, authors can achieve foreshadowing directly or indirectly.
Foreshadowing can be so subtle that it goes unnoticed, often until after the foreshadowed event comes to pass.
Often foreshadowing provides a sense of mystery rather than dispel it, by suggesting that some event might occur but not how it will come to pass.
Foreshadowing is a useful tool for writers because it helps prepare readers for later scenes, builds a sense of suspense, and ties up "loose ends."
I hope these few definitions have helped in some small way. If you have questions about these, or other terms, tell me about below in the ask/asnswer section below! |
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Comments received from my last Short Stories Newsletter, {tnl:"The Dialogue 500" :
W.D.Wilcox  said:
"Dialogue is so important in building your character. A good way to learn is to practice over at The Dialogue 500."
 Yes!! And here's that link: "The Dialogue 500"
Damon Nomad  said:
Good newsletter topic. Making dialog realistic and unique for each character is an important part of effective storytelling that draws in the reader. As I have gotten more experienced writing I find myself silently acting out the parts of the characters imagining what they sound like.
Good dialogue is important, so true. Thank you for reading and commenting. |
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Short Stories: August 07, 2024 Issue [#12675]
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