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The Overview Effect In Fiction
If you’re reading a picture book and you ever come across a page like this one, you might be seeing the overview effect as utilised by storytellers.
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A Glossary of Genie and Djinn Words
Abu Al-Jann Father of the Jann. Aforetime God said he created the djinn ‘aforetime’. Stories of the djinn predate the Quran. The concept of the djinn is ancient. Aladdin Disney’s Aladdin is a presentation of a stereotypical genie as we view them in the West. Aladd in is only loosely based on the folklore of […]
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The Definition of Industrialization
Industrialization refers to the change from a society without machinery to wide scale development of industries. The time before The Industrial Revolution is called The Pre-industrial Era.
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Defamiliarisation and the Estrangement Effect in Literature
If writing novels—and reading them—have any redeeming social value, it’s probably that they force you to imagine what it’s like to be somebody else. Margaret Atwood, Second Words Strangeness is a necessary ingredient in beauty. Charles Baudelaire Don’t Forget How Strange This All Is from Raptitude WHAT IS DEFAMILIARISATION? [Defamiliarisation is] taking something and trying […]
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Dischism, False Interiorization, White Room Syndrome
Dischism: Intrusion of author’s physical surroundings or mental state into the narrative.
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The Difference Between Story and Discourse
What Is Discourse? ‘Discourse’ is a conveniently loose term, and can refer to: 1. Linguistic Discourse — generally refers to specific discourse types such as the discourse of parent-child conversations, boss-employee conversations, dinner table conversations versus schoolyard conversations… 2. Narratological Discourse — the means by which a story and its significance are communicated. Aspects such […]
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What is delayed decoding?
Delayed decoding is a technique used by the Literary Impressionists and writers who came after. The term was coined by Ian Watt in a 1972 lecture “Pink Toads and Yellow Curs: An Impressionist Narrative Device in Lord Jim”. Joseph Conrad is well-known for using this technique.
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Words to Describe Landscapes, Landforms, Water and Construction
(Includes bodies of water.) You may be after a full glossary of landforms, in which case the Wikipedia article is comprehensive: Full list of landforms at Wikipedia. This post skews literary.
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What Is Cosmic Horror?
Do humans see reality as it really is? This is a fundamental question behind cosmic horror and is one philosophers and deep thinkers still ponder today.
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Retrospective and Prospective Adaptations
When storytellers decide to adapt an old story for a new audience, they must make an important decision: Is this for audiences who already know the story, or will this story function as a standalone? Adaptations are highly successful partly because when the audience already knows the setting and characters, the new take is easier […]
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Difference between amulet and talisman
The amulet and talisman are both charms worn on or near the body. They mean basically the same thing: Jewellery with magical significance particular to the owner or wearer. It might be something similarly portable, like a stone. Charm powers fall into two main categories: Amulet comes from late 16th century Latin but talisman comes […]
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What does liminal mean?
Liminal is all about the concepts of transition and shifting ambiguities, categorised by disorientation and a loss of belonging. Who knows, you might be in a liminal space right now.
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Literary Impressionism: The Basics
Literary impressionism centres on the following questions: Who am I and What is it all about?
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Writing Without Backstory: In statu nascendi
In statu nascendi is a Latin phrase and means “in a state of being born”. When a story begins in medias res (in the middle of things) and the character is given no backstory, we may say the character is presented to us in statu nascendi. Modernist writers started this trend. You’ll see it in […]
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Vampire Terminology
A list of words and concepts related to vampires. First, what do we mean by ‘vampire’?