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JUNE 6, 2014 by S. ALEX MARTIN 33 COMMENTS WRITER'S HELP

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5 Basic Literary Devices ThatWill Deepen Your Fiction

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knowthebasicelementsofstories.Firstyouhaveyour

characters,thenyouhaveplacesforthosecharacterstogo,and

thenyouhavethingsforthecharacterstodo.Nowletstakea

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deeperlook.Howcanyouadddepthtoyourcharacters,

settings,andevents?Theanswerissimple:developliterary

deviceswithinyourstory.

Easiersaidthandone,right?Noworries.Herearesomeeffectiveliterary

devicesthatwilltransformyourreadersfrompageskimmersintofullblown

storyanalyzers.

Literary Device #1: Foil and MirrorCharactersThisisarguablythesimplestofthedevices.Foilcharacterssharefeworno

valuesortraits.Maybeonecharacterislazyandboring,andhisbestfriendis

energeticandagogetter.Thesearefoilcharacters.Putthemtogether,and

theyllhighlighteachothersstrengthsandweaknesses.Themostcommon

foilcharactersaretheheroesandvillains,whostandfordifferentvaluesand

wanttoachieveseparategoals.

Mirrorcharactersareusedforasimilarpurpose.Theytendtoshareseveral

qualitiesandareusedtocomplementandhighlighteachotherstraits.

Commonmirrorcharactersembarkonparallelplots,sometimestoachievea

singlegoal,whichteststhemandhighlightstheirtraitsindifferentways.

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2014/01/minor-characters-help-discover-theme.htmlhttp://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-keywords=k.%20m.%20weiland%20workbook&linkCode=ur2&sprefix=k.%20m.%20w%2Caps&tag=httpwwwkmweil-20&url=search-alias%3Daps&linkId=YDEPRHUKYH6MN42K

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Literary Device #2: Static and DynamicCharactersHavingavarietyofcharactersbringsflavoranddepthtoeverystory,butyou

dontneedtodiveintothelivesofeverycharacterinthestory,showingevery

flawtheycouldpossiblyhave,andexplainingtheirfamilyhistoriesindetail.

Youdontknowthelivesofeverypersonyoumeet.Someyoupassonthe

streetandneverseeagain,someyouengageinsmalltalk,andsomebecome

yourfriends.

Storiesarethesameway.Somecharacterswillbestatic:background

characterswhoservebasicroles.Mostlikelytheyarestrangerstothemain

cast.Theydonthavearcs,andreadersusuallywontgrowattachedtothem.

Dynamiccharactersarethepeopleattheforefrontofthestory.These

charactersexperiencethemostchangethroughoutthestories.Villainswho

growtohaveremorse,heroeswhoundergotragedy.Thesecharacterswillbe

themostdeveloped.Theywillformfriendshipsandservemajorrolesinthe

eventsofthestory.Readersrelatetodynamiccharactersbecausetheirtraits

aremuchmoredevelopedonemotionallevels.

Literary Device #3: Symbolism

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2011/05/are-happy-endings-must.htmlhttp://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/resources/free-e-bookhttp://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2014/06/minor-characters.htmlhttp://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/07/should-you-ever-redeem-your-bad-guys.htmlhttp://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2010/07/whap-pow-zinghow-can-you-tell-if-your.html

Attachmeaningtoobjects.Thingsrepresentotherthings,usuallysocietal,

emotional,orpersonal.Countryflags,theAmericanEagle,theHolyLand,the

NileRiver,andmore.Theseallcontainmeaning.Peoplelookatthese

objectsandseetheircountry,orpride,orlifesustenance.Thereare

thousandsofmeanings.Death,freedom,sacrifice,love,repentance,

forgiveness,mercy,help,savior,bravery,treacherythelistgoesonandon.

Attachmeaningstoobjects.Groundthatintoyourstory.Makeitconcrete.

Symbolismwillimprovethequalitybecauseitcancropupatcertainpointsto

remindthemaincharacterswhattheybelieveinandarefightingfor.

Literary Device #4: Repetition of IdeasRepeatingcertaineventsorstructureswillalwayshelpgroundtruthand

realityintoyourstory.Thingsthathappenmorethanoncewillnotgo

unnoticedbyreaders,sousethattoyouradvantageandmakethosethings

important.

Literary Device #5: Parallelism ofEventsParallelismismypersonalfavoritestoryelement.Why?Becauseparallelism

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/05/3-ways-to-add-repetition-that-pleases.htmlhttp://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2010/06/how-to-strengthen-your-story-with.html

makeslightbulbsgooff.Heresaprimeexample:inHarryPotterandthe

DeathlyHallows,weretoldtheTaleoftheThreeBrothers.Thefirstbrother

diedforpower,theseconddiedforlostlove,andthethirdgreeteddeathlike

anoldfriend.Well,lookattheSecondWar.Voldemortsoughtultimatepower

anddiedasaresult.Snapediedforlostlove(LilyPotterdiedatVoldemorts

hand).Harrywalkedintotheforest,readytodie,readytogreetdeathforthe

benefitofall.

Parallelismcanalsobebetweenevents,characters,settings,and

dialogue.Thereisnolimit.Youcaneasilyforeshadowsomethingusing

parallelismifyouaneventearlyonthatleadstoasimilarpointlaterinthe

story.Readerswillbeabletoanalyzeeventsandmakeconnectionstoother

partsofthestory.Becauseparallelismallowsforsomuchflexibilityinthe

plot,youcanweavemultipleeventstogether.

Havefunwiththeseimportantliterarydevices,andmostofall,becreative!

Tell me your opinion:What are some of yourfavoriteliterary devices? Do you have any others toadd?

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