M. Keith Booker

University of Florida Press, 1991 - Literary Collections - 294 pages

  Mario Vargas Llosa is one of the world's most respected and widely read living writers.  His work is marked by technical sophistication and by its alliance with a variety of trends in modern culture.  To date little criticism of his work has made use of the important developments in literary theory in the past two decades.  This book does that, analyzing Vargas Llosa's place in modern and postmodern criticism.

Style is a fundamental aspect of literature.. Style choices also include the prevalence or absence of metaphor, repetition, foreshadowing, irony and so on. Choosing between a character driven novel and a plot driven novel is also part of an author’s style.some literary devices are used in novels:-

There are two ways in which catharsis is significant in literature. The first is the classical definition of catharsis in which reading a particular work of literature, such as a tragedy, allows the reader to experience intense emotions in an indirect way and thus feel a cleansing of emotions.

Antithesis can be a helpful tool for the author both to show a character’s mindset and to set up an argument.

Anaphora and epiphora are related concepts in that they both are techniques involving repetition.

Some contemporary writers might still use elements of naturalism in their works of literature.

I beleive that there are two most effective literary strategies used in contemporary fictional narratives are :

1- enhancing reader's involvement in the story atmosphere (using various techniques)

2- using cinematic prose in the narrative structure (also using various techniques)

However, with the spread of reading and writing, suddenly large numbers of people had the ability and opportunity to sit down with a book of their own and actually understand what the words in it were saying. Literature exploded, both in quantity and variety. Authors of good literature are very concerned to develop good characters. Sometimes their characters just leap from their brains, nearly completely formed. At other times, characters must be developed step by step to make them three- dimensional--to make them have the fullness of human life. Believable characters usually have some of the following traits developed on  their stories:

how they look

how they sound

what they wear

their emotions, desires, beliefs

their hobbies

their dark secrets

their family, friends, and relationships

future hopes, goals and plans.

I think this question is too broad to receive a specific answer. Literary techniques are chosen depending on a writer culture, training and ideological persuasion, origin and the finalities of his / her work.

The novel is considered as a literary genre that writers can easily adopt to express their beliefs and thoughts. Unlike drama and poetry, which date back to 2000 B.C., the novel is a quite recent creation in the world of literature. Long fictional narrative, written in the form of stories, first appeared in 1700. However, novels became really popular in the early 18th century.

Even though the choice of the word 'modern' in your question is a little unspecific (do you mean contemporary?) , I'd say that a sum of experimental techniques like metafiction (commenting on fiction within the fictional narrative), the non-linear narration (use of flashbacks and flashforwards) along with gaps, digressions and psychological insights define a number of novels starting from the modern era (Joyce, faulkner, kafka...) onwards...

The fiction writer’s choice of “literary techniques” is an important element of fiction.The following identifies the most common literary techniques that fiction writers use:

Allegory

Symbolism

Irony

Imagery

Contrast

Emotive Language

Perspective

Representation

Symbolism

Syntax

theme

diction

Some References are suggested:-

·  Writing Fiction: A Guide to the Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway

·         ·  Creative Writing: A Guide and Glossary to Fiction Writing by Colin Bulman

·         A Passion for Narrative: A Guide for Writing Fiction by Jack Hodgins

however I do not think that these are "literary techniques"... they are called "literary devices".... and you can find them in all fiction ancient, medieval, modern, and contemporary...making this distinction is very crucial and paramount for grasping the crafting of narration and storytelling...

Metafictionality - as style and also as topos. Best examples you can find in works by Mark Z. Danielewski (e.g. "House of Leaves"), but also in "S" by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst, in "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry" by Leanne Shapton.

As a side effect you can observe the narrative interlacing, which may (or may not) cause visual distortion of typography and text layout (see attachment, "House of Leaves"), or even new or inconventional narrative methos (like in the novel by Shapton designed as auction catalogue, s. next attachment).

Of course we shouldn't ignore the strong influence by Historian Avantgarde (e.g. Dadaists with their collages.

Extreme internal play and self-referentiality are characteristics of  modern fiction.

Mr. Sajeesh, thank you for your answer. Can you please these concepts especially "self-referentiality" because frankly these concept are new to me. Appreciate your reply!

Dear friends t

Thank you for your kind answers. I enjoy reading your valuable answers and I much appreciate them.  

Mr. Mohamed, by "self-referentiality" I mean the writers' attempt to search, construct and interact  his/her selves. The same can also refer to the characters' attempt to search, construct and interact their selves through intricate dialogues and relationships. 

Perspective is probably the single most important literary technique of the modern novel. Perspective can include radical shifts in perspective among the characters in the novel (fragmentation) as well was the perspective of the author writing the novel (which Sajeesh, above, calls self-referentiality).

the writers of modern age were tired of traditional way of writing. the tried something new which was never applied in the literary site before. modern writers adopted the method Stream of Consciousness, through which the could take us inside the head of the character and show us their perspwctive rather seeing the world objectively. the tried automatic writing style, letting their minds free to work. James Joyce's Ulysses is first literary work in this regard. inspored from him, Virginia Woolf wrote Mrs. Dalloway, which is yet another classic example of modern work. apart from this, the writers also used heavy symbolism, interior monologue and oher literal techiniques.