List of narrative techniques

A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several specific methods the creator of a narrative uses &mdash;in other words, a strategy applied in the delivering of a narrative to relay information to the audience and to make the narrative more complete, complex, or engaging. Some scholars also call such a technique a narrative mode, though this term can also more narrowly refer to the particular technique of using a commentary to deliver a story. Other possible synonyms within written narratives are literary technique or literary device, though these can also broadly refer to non-narrative writing strategies, as might be used in academic or essay writing, as well as poetic devices such as assonance, metre, or rhyme scheme. Furthermore, narrative techniques are distinguished from narrative elements, which exist inherently in all works of narrative, rather than being merely optional strategies.