If you're new to the writing community you may have heard some words and phrases that you haven't heard before. It doesn't help matters that these terms and phrases can be constantly changing or added to - even a writer well established in the writing community can get lost some times. If you struggle with keeping up with these terms, or if you would perhaps like to deepen your understanding of them, this is the post for you! This post is organized alphabetically and it will be updated as more terms and words are thought of. On that note, if you think of any terms not already on this list, please comment them below so we can add them!
Contents
To quickly jump to a section, click whichever letter the word you are looking for starts.
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A
Action tag
An action tag used in place of a dialogue tag. Instead of saying "he said" and describing how he said it, you would write what he did. For example:
'"This," he pointed at the bold letters on the screen, "is an action tag."'
Antagonist
An antagonist is something that stands in opposition to your character, preventing them from achieving their goals. The antagonist is often a character, but it can also be a theme, subject, or force. For example, the ring in Lord of the Rings is an antagonist, but it is not a character. Rather it is a burden that the main character, Frodo, has to carry. More specifically, it is a force of evil. It also is not the only antagonist - there are several antagonists throughout the book(s).
Anti-Hero
An anti-hero is a character (often a protagonist) who accomplishes the same feats or pursues the same results as a hero might - if one were in his position - but is not himself heroic. His reasoning, actions, and ambitions are not motivated by goodness, though they may result in it, and he is willing to achieve his ambitions through unsavory means and methods.
Anti-Villain
An anti-villain is an antagonist whose intentions are honorable, understandable, and/or technically good, but whose actions are unjustifiable.
(For more information and examples regarding anti-villains, check out this article.)
C
Character Arc
A character arc is the change your character undergoes due to an internal journey that he goes on over the course of his story. It is the character's transformation from who they were at the beginning of the story to who they are at the end of it.
A very blatant example of a character arc would be Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. In the beginning of the story, Scrooge hates not only Christmas but people and goodness in general. Over the course of the story, he experiences various things that challenge his views and way of life. Ultimately, this results in Scrooge changing his ways and becoming a jolly Christmas-loving do-gooder.
In Scrooge's case, he had a positive - or heroic - character arc. However, character arcs do not always have to be positive. For example, there are also negative arcs (some times referred to as "anti-arcs" or "descending arcs") in which your character changes for the worse, rather than better.
An obvious example of a descending arc can be found in Star Wars, in which Anakin Skywalker descends into the iconic villain Darth Vader.
The possibilities with character arcs are endless, and they vary between stories and characters.
D
Dialogue
Dialogue is a verbal exchange, or conversation, between two or more people characters.
Dialogue Tag
A dialogue tag is how you conclude what a character has said, imply how he said it, and specify that he is the one who has spoken. For example:
'"This is an example of a dialogue tag," she whispered.'
The tag has concluded this character's sentence, informed us of who has spoken ("she"), and it has described the way she said it ("whispered").
Other examples of dialogue tags are said, breathed, laughed, argued, etc.
G
Genre
"Genre" refers to what kind of book you are writing. For example, romance, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and contemporary are all genres. In some cases you may have an overlap in these genres, such as a mystery taking place in a fantasy setting. The main genre of this book would be "mystery" because that refers more directly to your plot than "fantasy" does.
H
Hero
A hero is a type of protagonist/MC. He is a force for good in some regard and is someone that the reader can relate to and champion.
I
Interior/Internal Monologue
Like a monologue, an interior monologue expresses a character's thoughts and emotions. Unlike a monologue, this is kept within the confines of the character's mind. Only the readers and the character himself are aware of it.
Interior, or internal, monologues can be a very useful tool to give the reader insight to the character's current state of being.
M
Main Character (MC) / Protagonist The main character (MC), or "protagonist," is the character whom the story is about and/or follows. The narration follows this character, who is in some way tied to the plot.
(Main) Plot "Plot" refers to the subject of your story. It's what causes the story to happen, it's what gives you the reason to write the story and it is what gives readers a reason to read it. For example, the plot of Lord of the Rings is that Frodo Baggins is tasked with the destruction of the One Ring, an item of the dark lord's that holds a treacherous and evil power. If you know much about Lord of the Rings, you know that the above description is barely the beginning of what the story. Even still, it gives you an idea for what the story is about, because it summarizes the plot.
MMC & FMC
These terms are used to specify the gender of the MC. MMC means "Male Main Character" and FMC means "Female Main Character." These terms are especially handy when your story follows two main characters of opposite genders.
Monologue
A monologue is a speech given by a single character. It is used to express the monologuing character's emotions and thoughts.
P
Pacing
"Pacing" refers to the speed at which a story and plot progresses. There is no one proper pace for all stories, but rather the appropriate pacing depends on the individual story.
Past & Present Tense
The "tense" of your book is how you describe when your story takes place.
Past tense may be considered as a recounting of events. Your perspective will be delivered in a way that implies the events that are being read have already happened. You would use words such as "said," "had," "blinked," etc. This tense is frequently used in third person perspectives.
Present tense is an active narration. The events of the story are happening right now, and the characters and reader are experiencing them at the same time. You would use words such as "says," "has," "blink/blinking," etc.
This tense is frequently used in first person perspectives.
Perspectives (1st, 2nd, & 3rd Person)
These refer to what angle your story is told from - it's an extension of the POV.
-1st person perspective is a narration that is told by the main character (ex: "I stood up," "He looked at me," "I was by myself.")
This is a fairly common narrative style, frequently found in young adult books.
-2nd person perspective is a narration that is about or involving you, the reader (ex: "You stood up," "He looked at you," "You were by yourself.")
This narrative style is not common in fiction, but it has been and can be used in interesting ways.
-3rd perspective perspective is a narration that tells the reader about the characters (ex: "He stood up," "She looked at him," "She was by herself.")
This is a very common narrative style and is frequently used in books that have multiple/split POV.
Point Of View (POV)
The POV of your story could also be described as the "perspective" of your story. While prose is how you tell the story, the POV is whose eyes you tell the story from. In some books, there is only one POV - the narration always follows a single character (the main character) and his or her thoughts. In others, the POV may change between various characters' perspectives (this split narration is called "multiple POV/points of view").
Prose The prose of a book is, essentially, the style of the book's writing. It's how you choose to tell the story. Every writer has their own style of prose, and that style typical varies across the writer's different stories.
S
Side Plot
A side plot is an aspect of a book's story that is not the main focus of the book. Typically a book will have a few side plots, and in the grand scheme of things they will all tie together with the main plot by the end of the story. Essentially, a side plot gives the story teller the opportunity to cover more ground within their book, to better expound on the task at hand. For example, in the context of a book series, side plots can be introduced and concluded within a single book, whereas the main plot would continue throughout all of the books.
Show & Tell
You have very likely heard the phrase "show don't tell" before. This phrase is meant to encourage writers to describe what is happening in your story, rather than stating it. For example...
Tell: He walked across the room.
Show: The boards creaked beneath his mud-covered boots at he crossed the room.
"Tell" informs the reader while "show" enlightens him. Despite the implications of the phrase "show don't tell," neither one is necessarily better than the other. Both telling and showing have their place in writing and should be used accordingly.
Subgenre
A subgenre is a secondary genre that helps you to better categorize your book. This is especially useful when your book has a very prominent aspect related to the pot that doesn't quite fit with your main genre. For example, under the "Genre" section I used the example of a mystery taking place in the fantasy world, saying that the main genre would be "mystery" as it pertains to the plot. The subgenre would then be "fantasy," as it is very closely related to what kind of story this book contains.
Subplot
A subplot refers to a constant theme that follows the main plot, an underlying constant that can only exist because of/exists for the main plot in some regard.
Subplots are often more closely tied to characters than they are the plot, often having to do with a character's motivation for being involved with the main plot.
V
Villain
A villain is an antagonist who motivates the plot via his own evil ambitions. Where the hero is a driving force for good within the context of the plot, the villain is the driving force for evil.
Thank you for reading this post. Once again, if you have any terms you would like to add to this list, please let us know in the comments!