Get Lost in Literature

I've been having trouble focusing, having trouble reading. I took a step back, and decided to relax with some old friends. Which led me to pick up a Harry Potter book and subsequently to a decision and a breakthrough. The decision of course, was if I was reading the series again for the umpteenth time, I really ought to come up with some kick ass reasons as to why the story is so good. The breakthrough, came when thinking about things that make HP standout. One of the things, isn't how it's different, it's how it's alike. I want to examine (or ramble about) patterns. The most common theme in young adult media is a protagonist from a broken home. It occurs in Harry Potter, but if you're a movie fan, maybe you notice that Disney built its entire franchise upon this idea. Neglected, belittled, abandoned, or orphaned, children from broken homes tend to do really well in mainstream media. Even if an individual observer comes from a loving family, these stories of t...

Tranche de vie  is a French phrase that means "slice of life". In literature it refers to a storytelling technique where a character does seemingly arbitrary everyday things in a plot with little or no conflict. This is a weird literary device, and I don't see it used a whole lot. I think most modern writers learn young "must have plot" and not necessarily "must-have theme". Plenty of stories are meant to be enjoyed and not necessarily analyzed. But on the rare occasion tranche de vie pops up, I get to ask the fun question: What does it mean? Sometimes it means the story is incredibly well-thought-out; the author is using an arbitrary and otherwise dull moment in a person's life to illustrate a point. Sometimes it means the opposite: the author simply got carried away and had no point except that he didn't know how to end one scene and move onto the next.  If little else, tranche de vie offers an opportunity stop and think, to  compl...

Neologism , is a new word or phrase -- or new meaning for an old word or phrase --that enters into commonly used vocabulary. This is a word I think every modern day human being should know, as it is basically the evolution of language! And we're seeing language evolve faster than ever as the digital world grows and people look for more effective ways to communicate with each other... But this is a book blog ( blog is a neologism!) not a communications seminar. Neologisms are commonly found in fantasy and science fiction to help readers dissociate from the world they know and believe in a world they don't know. Obviously, not all words found in fictional worlds are going to be accepted in ours, but some take off. For example, most people understand 'chortle' is another word for 'laughter', but this word didn't exist until Lewis Carroll wrote Through the Looking Glass . Books that contain themes of totalitarian governments and anti-utopian societies ...

* What is it? Malapropism , is the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound. It is a form of wordplay. * Why is it used? Malapropism , can be used for a few reasons. One reason is just because it's funny. A character saying a word with confidence, when the audience knows it is the wrong word, can be comical. Another reason is to show a character's state of mind; stress, confusion, or in Jack Sparrow's case, drunkenness. The character is flustered, knows the word he wants to say, but says the wrong one instead. A third reason, is use by accident or ignorance. The speaker simply doesn't know he or she is using a word incorrectly. The word they use sounds similar to the one they want to use. They know the definition of the word they want to use, but they don't know the word that matches that definition. The third example of malapropism is especially hilarious, when used by real life politicians! Got any favorite exampl...

"Show, don't tell." im·age·ry (n.) - visually descriptive or figurative language, esp. in a literary work The use of Imagery in storytelling, is by far my favorite literary devices. It's when an author goes beyond telling a story, and uses words to "paint a picture" that allow a reader to not just bear witness to a story, but imagine themselves experiencing the events within.  Imagery isn't just the description of a setting or character, it isn't just visual, although that's certainly a common use for it. Imagery can be applied to all of your senses: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fingertips. You could also apply imagery to a sense of movement, climate, and emotional state. The right combination of words can not just put the reader in a moment, but also give them a sense of a story's atmosphere. Say I wanted to describe falling snow to someone who'd never seen it. Tell: "Snow falls, cold and white, covering the law...

What is Deus ex Machina ? It's a literary device, where an author writes an unbelievable (flat) concept/character/event into a story line to instantly solve a plot problem/conflict with seemingly no other way out. Basically, if the author over imagines his conflict and can't figure out a logical, on-par-with-the-plot solution, he/she can just "make something up" to - as if by magic - bring things to a nice, tidy close. To be fair to the authors that use Deus ex Machina, in the eyes of mainstream readers, this plot device is often subjective to personal perception of a story. Although any literary critic will argue, Deus ex Machina is very bad and should not be done. Famous examples: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer Bella has a magical ability; she is a supernatural shield from psychic abilities. So much of Breaking Dawn is spent with the Cullen family and their werewolf allies preparing for war with an all powerful coven of vampire...