Technology: Stretch

“The taking of a regular pattern of plot or character or storyworld or narrative style or any other core component of story–any extending the pattern further. The stretch is the invention at the root of all literary wonder: the marvel that comes from stretching regular objects into metaphors, the dazzle that comes from stretching regular rhythms of speech into poetic meters, and the awe that comes from stretching regular humans into heroes” (Fletcher 17).

Also called: metaphor, poetic meter, repetition

View Version History for This Term

Starcrossed
Experience: Identification
Narrative Technology: Stretch
The emotions of a fictional, fantastical character allowing a human to relate, such as Helen’s cramps when using her scion abilities in front of mortals being a metaphor for social anxiety.
Contributed by: Kaitlyn O.
June 5, 2025
Oedipus
Experience: Wonder
Narrative Technology: Stretch
"Oedipus Tyrannus takes the old plot of a person who tries to outwit a prophecy and elaborates it into the mind bender of two people trying to outwit the same prophecy--and so double-negatively fulfilling it" (Fletcher 17).
Contributed by: angusif
January 9, 2025