metafictional
Aware of itself
Metafictional describes fiction that draws attention to its own fictional nature.
A metafictional novel might have characters who know they're in a book, or a narrator who addresses the reader directly about the writing process: The metafictional twist came when the protagonist discovered she was being written.
The technique comments on storytelling conventions by exposing them.
Satirical imitation
- pasticheImitative artistic tribute
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
bricolage · playfulness · simulacrum · hyperreality · absurdity · skepticism · ambiguity · anti-narrative
Not in sequence
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
- hypertextDocuments connected by links
- multimodalUsing multiple forms
- aleatoryGoverned by chance
footnotes · marginalia · choose-your-own-adventure · labyrinthine · palimpsest · collage
Creating fanciful narratives
- defamiliarizationMaking common things seem strange
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- writerlyCharacteristic of authors
- readerlyReader-centered in approach
Origin of written work
- creationMaking something exist
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- representationDepiction or likeness
parody
Satirical imitation
- pasticheImitative artistic tribute
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- intertextualityConnections between written works
deconstruction · bricolage · playfulness · simulacrum · hyperreality · absurdity · skepticism · ambiguity · anti-narrative · Borges
self-referential
Alluding to itself
- fictionalityQuality of being imaginary
nonlinear
Not in sequence
- fragmentedBroken into pieces
- hypertextDocuments connected by links
- multimodalUsing multiple forms
aleatory · footnotes · marginalia · choose-your-own-adventure · labyrinthine · palimpsest · collage
fabulation
Creating fanciful narratives
- defamiliarizationMaking common things seem strange
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- writerlyCharacteristic of authors
authorship
Origin of written work
- creationMaking something exist
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- representationDepiction or likeness
metafictionalrealist
One accepting hard truths
conventional · naturalistic · straightforward · transparent · unselfconscious
metafictionalconventional
Following accepted practices
traditional · linear · simple · unadorned · direct
metafictionalimmersive
Fully engaging the senses
absorbing · escapist · illusionistic · realistic · naturalist