Shaggy Dog Storytelling Technique

A Shaggy Dog Storytelling Technique is a narrative comedy technique that creates extended narrative structures with deliberately anticlimactic resolutions.

• AKA: Shaggy Dog Story Method, Long-Form Anticlimax Technique, Prolonged Setup-Anticlimax Technique.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) construct Shaggy Dog Prolonged Narrative Setups with shaggy dog mundane details.
  • It can (typically) employ Shaggy Dog Tangential Digressions through shaggy dog irrelevant incidents.
  • It can (typically) subvert Shaggy Dog Audience Expectations with shaggy dog deliberately disappointing endings.
  • It can (often) utilize Shaggy Dog Excessive Detail Accumulation for shaggy dog comedic effect.
  • It can (often) maintain Shaggy Dog Narrative Momentum through shaggy dog false promises of shaggy dog meaningful resolution.
  • It can (often) incorporate Shaggy Dog Time-Wasting Elements as shaggy dog intentional frustration devices.
  • It can range from being a Brief Shaggy Dog Story to being an Epic Shaggy Dog Story, depending on its narrative length.
  • It can range from being a Simple Anticlimax to being a Complex Misdirection, depending on its structural complexity.
  • It can range from being a Gentle Disappointment to being a Absurd Non-Sequitur, depending on its resolution style.
  • It can range from being a Oral Storytelling Format to being a Written Narrative Form, depending on its delivery medium.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Classic Shaggy Dog Story Performances, such as:
    • Original Shaggy Dog Contest Story (1940s), featuring shaggy dog competition narrative with shaggy dog anticlimactic judgment.
    • Aristocrats Joke (traditional), allowing shaggy dog infinite elaboration before shaggy dog title reveal.
  • Modern Shaggy Dog Comedy Performances, such as:
    • Norm Macdonald Moth Joke (2010s), extending shaggy dog simple premise into shaggy dog 12-minute narrative.
    • Norm Macdonald Scrabble Story (1990s), building shaggy dog vacation narrative toward shaggy dog breakfast disappointment.
    • Norm Macdonald Logic Professor Story (1990s), creating shaggy dog circular reasoning through shaggy dog extended setup.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Traditional Joke Structure, which delivers satisfying punchlines.
  • Efficient Storytelling Technique, which minimizes narrative padding.
  • Climactic Resolution Technique, which provides meaningful payoffs.
• See: Comedy Technique, Narrative Technique, Anti-Humor Technique, Narrative Misdirection Technique, Comedic Timing Technique, Storytelling Task, Narrative Anticlimax, Audience Expectation Management, Long-Form Comedy Narrative, Deadpan Delivery Technique, Observational Absurdity Technique, Extended Setup Technique, Tangential Digression Technique, One-Liner Comedy Technique, Performance Technique.

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