List of narrative techniques facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A narrative technique is a special method or trick that a writer uses to tell a story. Think of it as a tool in a writer's toolbox! These techniques help make a story more interesting, complete, or exciting for the reader. They are different from the basic parts of a story, like characters or plot, because they are choices the writer makes to shape how the story is told.

What is Setting in a Story?
How Writers Build Plots
Different Ways to Tell a Story (Perspective)
How Writers Use Style
Exploring Themes in Stories
How Characters Are Developed
See also

What is Setting in a Story?

The setting is where and when a story takes place. It's like the background and mood of the story. The setting can be a real place or an imagined world.

Name	What it Means	Example
Setting	The time and place where a story happens. It creates the main background and feeling of the story.	The book Ulysses by James Joyce is set in Dublin, Ireland, all on one day: June 16, 1904. It describes many real places in Dublin. Also, in Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North (1966), the story starts in a Sudanese village called Wad Hamed and then moves to London, England. This shows the main character's challenges as he moves between his home and the West.

How Writers Build Plots

Plots are the series of events that make up a story. Writers use many techniques to make their plots exciting and surprising.

Name	What it Means	Example
Backstory	Events that happened before the main story begins. This helps explain why things are happening now.	In The Lord of the Rings, the story gives hints about old myths and history that happened long before the main adventure.
Chekhov's gun	This rule says that every part of a story should be important. If something is mentioned, it should be used later.	The writer Anton Chekhov said, "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off."
Cliffhanger	When a story or episode ends at a very exciting moment, leaving you wondering what happens next. This makes you want to keep reading or watching!	Many TV shows like Dexter and Breaking Bad end with a character in a tricky situation.
Eucatastrophe	A sudden, happy turn of events in a story, especially when things looked like they were going to be very bad.	At the end of The Lord of the Rings, Gollum takes the Ring from Frodo. It looks like Sauron will win. But Gollum accidentally falls into the lava, destroying the Ring and Sauron's power.
Flashback	When the story goes back in time to show something that happened earlier.	In "The Three Apples" from the Arabian Nights, a dead body is found. Later, the murderer explains why they did it by telling a flashback of past events.
Flashforward	When the story jumps forward in time to show something that will happen in the future.	This happens in A Christmas Carol when Mr. Scrooge sees the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. It's also common in later seasons of the TV show Lost.
Foreshadowing	Hints or clues that an author gives about events that will happen later in the story.	A story might start with a character breaking up a fight between boys over a girl. This could hint at a future argument between the character and his twin brother over a woman.
Frame story	A main story that holds together a series of shorter stories. It's like a story within a story.	Early examples include Panchatantra and Arabian Nights.
Framing device	A single event or setting that appears at both the beginning and end of a work, connecting it.	In Arabian Nights, Scheherazade telling stories to the King is the framing device.
In medias res	Starting a story right in the middle of the action, instead of at the very beginning.	Epic poems like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey often start this way. The Odyssey begins with Odysseus returning home, and then uses flashbacks to tell about his journey.
Narrative hook	The opening of a story that grabs the reader's attention and makes them want to keep reading.	Many non-fiction books start with an interesting fact to hook the reader.
Plot twist	A sudden and unexpected change in the direction of the story or its outcome.	In "The Three Apples" from the Arabian Nights, two men claim to be the murderer, but it turns out to be the investigator's own slave.
Poetic justice	When good characters are rewarded and bad characters are punished in a way that fits their actions, often ironically.	In Dante's Inferno, each sin's punishment matches the sin itself.
Red herring	A clue or piece of information that is meant to distract or mislead the audience from the real truth.	In mystery stories, an innocent person might be made to look suspicious to hide the real culprit.
Self-fulfilling prophecy	A prediction that comes true because someone believes it and acts in a way that makes it happen.	In Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort hears a prophecy about a boy who will be his equal. Because he tries to kill Harry, he accidentally gives Harry a special connection to him, making the prophecy come true.
Story within a story (Hypodiegesis)	A story told inside another story.	In Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole, the main character tells a story from his past, and inside that story, he tells another one.
Ticking time bomb scenario	A situation where there's a threat of a disaster that will happen soon, creating a lot of urgency.	In the book On the Beach, the characters face increasing radiation that is slowly moving towards them, creating a sense of urgency.
Unreliable narrator	A narrator who cannot be fully trusted because they might be biased, hiding things, or misunderstanding events.	The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has a surprise ending where the narrator admits they were unreliable.

Different Ways to Tell a Story (Perspective)

Perspective is about whose point of view the story is told from. It changes how the reader experiences the story.

Name	What it Means	Example
Audience surrogate	A character in the story who asks questions or shows confusion, just like the audience might. This helps the audience understand what's happening.	Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories often asks Sherlock to explain things for the reader's benefit.
Breaking the fourth wall	When a character or the author directly talks to the audience, making them aware that it's a story.	Characters in Sesame Street often talk to the viewers. In House of Cards, Frank Underwood often talks directly to the camera.
Defamiliarization	Making something ordinary seem strange or new so that we look at it differently.	In Swift's Gulliver's Travels, when Gulliver sees a giant woman's skin up close, it looks rough and not beautiful, making something normal seem strange.
First-person narration	The story is told by one of the characters, usually the main one, using "I."	Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is told by Huckleberry Finn. Sherlock Holmes is mostly told from Watson's view.
Magical realism	A style where magical or impossible things happen in a realistic setting, often mixed with local beliefs. The magic isn't the main focus.	Popular with Latin American writers like Gabriel García Márquez.
Multiperspectivity	A story told from the viewpoints of many different characters, showing their different feelings and understandings of events.	The films of Robert Altman often use this. The book 2666 by Roberto Bolano tells the story from many different characters' points of view.
Second-person narration	The story is told using "you," as if the reader is the main character.	Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney is written this way.
Stream of consciousness	The author tries to show a character's thoughts and feelings as they happen, often jumping between ideas.	In Ulysses, Leopold Bloom's thoughts jump from "Pineapple rock, lemon platt, butter scotch" to "Bad for their tummies."
Third-person narration	The story is told by an outside narrator who is not a character in the story. This narrator can know everything (omniscient) or only what one character knows (limited).	A Song of Ice and Fire uses multiple limited third-person narrators, changing with each chapter.

How Writers Use Style

Style refers to the way a writer uses language to create a certain effect. This includes word choice, sentence structure, and literary devices.

Name	What it Means	Example
Allegory	A story where characters and events represent deeper meanings or ideas, often moral or political.	C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a religious allegory, with Aslan representing Christ.
Alliteration	Repeating the same sound at the beginning of words that are close together.	In V for Vendetta, the character V says, "Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran..."
Amplification (rhetoric)	Adding more details to a sentence to make it clearer or more impactful.	Original: The thesis paper was difficult. Amplified: The thesis paper was difficult: it needed lots of research, data collection, surveys, interviews, and fieldwork.
Anagram	Rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to make a new one.	An anagram for "debit card" is "bad credit."
Asyndeton	Not using conjunctions (like "and" or "or") between parts of a sentence, making it flow faster.	John F. Kennedy said, "...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe..."
Bathos	A sudden shift from something serious or grand to something silly or ordinary, often for humor.	"The ballerina rose gracefully... like a dog at a fire hydrant."
Caesura	A pause or break in the middle of a line of poetry.	In "Know then thyself. ‖ Presume not God to scan" (from An Essay on Man), the double line shows a pause.
Distancing effect	Making the audience feel less connected to the characters so they can think about the story more objectively.	Popularized by playwright Bertolt Brecht.
Dramatic visualization	Using lots of descriptive words to make a scene or character very clear and vivid in the reader's mind.	This technique is seen in the Arabian Nights.
Hyperbole	Exaggeration used to create a strong feeling or impression, not meant to be taken literally.	"Her pregnant belly was bigger than the planet on which she stood."
Imagery	Using descriptive words to create mental pictures and appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell).	"When the boots came off... a smell of ferment and fish market immediately filled the small tent."
Leitwortstil	Repeating certain words or phrases on purpose to highlight an important idea or theme in the story.	This technique goes back to the Arabian Nights.
Metonymy	Referring to something by using a word that is closely associated with it, instead of its actual name.	"The boxer threw in the towel" (towel represents giving up).
Onomatopoeia	Words that imitate the sound they describe.	"Boom goes the dynamite." "Bang!" "Bark."
Oxymoron	A phrase that combines two words that seem to contradict each other.	"terrible beauty"
Paradox	A statement that seems to be contradictory but might contain a deeper truth.	"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." (A Tale of Two Cities)
Parody	Making fun of something by imitating it in an exaggerated, often humorous, way.	MAD Magazine is known for its parodies.
Pastiche	Copying the style of another author or work, usually as a respectful tribute.	Many stories featuring Sherlock Holmes that were not written by Arthur Conan Doyle are pastiches.
Pathos	Appealing to the audience's emotions, especially to make them feel pity or sadness for a character.	In Romeo and Juliet, the characters' rash actions lead to unnecessary tragedy, creating a feeling of pathos.
Polyptoton	Using different forms of the same root word in a sentence.	John F. Kennedy said, "Not as a call to battle, though embattled we are."
Polysyndeton	Using many conjunctions (like "and") close together, which can make a list seem longer or more overwhelming.	In Great Expectations, a character is described as "soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones..."
Satire	Using humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize people's foolishness or problems in society.	The film Network and the TV show South Park are examples of satire.
Sensory detail	Using words that describe what you can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. It's the same as imagery.	"The boot was tough and sinewy... There was no flavor... except for the blandness of all the dirt... The only thing the boot reminded him of was the smell of a wet dog."
Understatement	Making something seem less important or serious than it really is.	"The broken ends of the long bone were sticking through the bleeding skin, but it wasn't something that always killed a man."
Word play	Using the sounds or meanings of words in a clever or humorous way.	A pun is a common example of word play.
Title drop	When the title of the work is spoken by a character within the story.	In The Breakfast Club, the final line is "Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club."

Exploring Themes in Stories

A theme is the main idea or message that a story explores. Writers use different techniques to highlight these themes.

Name	What it Means	Example
Irony	When there's a difference between what is expected and what actually happens. There are three types: Situational irony: When something happens that is the opposite of what you'd expect. Dramatic irony: When the audience knows something important that a character doesn't. Verbal irony: When someone says one thing but means the opposite. \|\| A person hears a prophecy about themselves. Their efforts to stop the prophecy from coming true actually make it happen.
Metaphor	Comparing two unlike things directly, saying one thing is another, without using "like" or "as."	"Her tears were a river flowing down her cheeks."
Thematic patterning	Repeating certain ideas or moral messages throughout a story in different events and parts. This helps emphasize the main point of the story.	Each chapter of Ulysses by James Joyce has its own thematic patterns.

How Characters Are Developed

Character techniques are ways writers create and show the personalities and traits of the people (or animals) in their stories.

Name	What it Means	Example
Anthropomorphism	Giving human qualities or behaviors to animals.	The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (Pinocchio is a wooden boy who acts human) or the Cheshire Cat in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Hamartia	A flaw or mistake in a hero's character that leads to their downfall or a sad ending. This is also called a tragic flaw.	Oedipus kills his own father because he doesn't know who his real parents are.
Pathetic fallacy	When the weather or objects in nature seem to reflect a character's mood or feelings.	The storm in William Shakespeare's King Lear matches Lear's mental breakdown.
Personification	Giving human qualities or actions to abstract ideas or inanimate objects.	From Romeo and Juliet: "When well-appareled April on the heel / Of limping winter treads." (April and winter are given human actions).