Is there some sort of "list" of literary or storytelling techniques?

[myung76]

Hi

So whenever I watch a crazy story or read a great book, where the creator had made some "oh shit" or super ironic and climactic moments I wonder how the hell this author thought up such a thing.

I wonder if a lot of these guys studied literature or story telling and there are "techniques" which are general tools to use in your story, which many authors use it as a general tool and then elaborate and utilize that tool to create crazy moments. So, is there some kind of bag of tools one uses? So I guess I'm asking if writers have some kind of source or footprint to elicit emotional and intellectual awe out of portions of story telling

Examples:

Super ironic moments: a classic one being the identity of the killer in a story, where everything falls into place at the end an the viewer goes "ooo shit"

Any super badass or crazy moments: sometimes these are done either very cleverly or just cool

Not specifically story telling but kind of a principle where if u treat a celeb like he or she is just like anyone else, it'll elicit an emotional response from her and she'll fall for you (just an example)

Any kind of ghost story where at the end your expectations are turned upside down and the conclusion gives u chills.
Any kind of technique to elicit emotional responses

 

[drstrangelov]

Aristotle's poetics covers it. Chekhov to supplement it.

 

[Leagon]

Yeah, there are tons of techniques and philosophies on techniques to elicit a desired response from readers. The success is all about the implementation. It's like martial arts. You may have proper kicking technique, but accuracy, timing, spacing, power, etc will determine how well it works.

In terms of contemporary, more readily digestible sources, the podcast at writingexcuses.net is pretty useful.

 

[lakersfan45]

Not sure but having ur theme and character arc in mind before you start writing and drafting out major plot points to get to said theme and character arc will make it much easier to come up with clever plot elements and climax (in other words the character arc should drive the plot not the other way around)

 

[Cyke_out]

Check out Joseph Campbell's, The hero with a thousand faces. This mono-myth is the very basis of almost all stories and you can see the pattern it lays in almost everything ever done.

 

[Spoken]

I assume you're thinking of literary devices?
Yes, there is a huge number of literary devices that authors keep in mind, though I'm sure they're quite natural.

As for the concept of myth: it kind of fits here, but it's really a different conversation than Campbell or Eliade

 

[theskza]

Innate creativity helps a bunch.