Narrative and Storytelling Principles Flashcards

In Joseph Campbell's monomyth, the stage where the hero receives supernatural aid before entering the unknown is called:

Answer: Meeting the mentor

Meeting the mentor provides the hero with wisdom, tools, or guidance needed to face the challenges of the special world ahead.

Which pacing technique compresses a long period of story time into a brief narrative passage?

Answer: Summary

Summary condenses events that span hours, months, or years into a short narrative passage, maintaining momentum without scene-level detail.

A story within a story, used to comment on or parallel the main narrative, is called a(n):

Answer: Embedded narrative

An embedded narrative is a story told by a character within the main story, often thematically mirroring or illuminating the outer tale.

When a writer describes the setting in a way that reflects the protagonist's emotional state, this is called:

Answer: Pathetic fallacy

Pathetic fallacy attributes human emotions to the environment, making weather or landscape mirror a character's inner feelings.

Which term describes the moment a reader becomes so immersed in a story that they lose awareness of the real world?

Answer: Transportation

Transportation (or narrative transportation) is the psychological state where readers are fully absorbed into a story's world and characters.

A story's external conflict between protagonist and another person is classified as:

Answer: Person vs. person

Person vs. person (or character vs. character) is the interpersonal conflict type, typically embodied in the protagonist–antagonist dynamic.

The use of hints or clues early in a narrative that prepare readers for later events is called:

Answer: Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing plants subtle signals in early scenes that create anticipation and make later developments feel inevitable rather than arbitrary.