In this narrative technique, the narrator leads us inside a character's mind to see the character's remorse. For example, in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Jo March regrets accidentally burning her sister Meg's hair.

The invention's viewing of a character's pri...

Here, a narrator uses a future-tense voice to address us in the present. In the late 19th century, this invention was engineered into the foundation of the modern thriller, such as H. Rider Haggard in King Solomon's Mines or variants such as The Bourne Identity.

This one c...

The secret discloser activates dopamine neurons in the brain to convey the hedonic benefits of loving and being loved, making you more cheerful.

The 1952 love song by E. E. Cummings: "here is the deepest secret nobody knows/ I carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)"...

This helps with boosting your creativity. This innovation's blueprint is a rule-breaking element inside a larger formal structure, such as the Mother Goose's Medley nursery rhyme:

"Hey, diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
Th...

This element of storytelling focuses on turning around the satire's tool so that instead of laughing at someone else, you will smile at yourself.

This method can have analgesic effects, putting you in a serene state of feeling. A modern example would be Do...

As recorded by Aristotle in Poetics, this invention's blueprint is a plot that discloses to the audience that a character is going to get hurt.

Aristotle hypothesised that this invention could stimulate catharsis, releasing the emotional tension after a traumatic f...

The plot twist thrilled Aristotle when he discovered it.

• It supported his view that literature's inventions were constructed from story.
• It confirmed that literary inventions could have powerful psychological effects. Recent research shows t...