Florence Osmund                  

A

Antagonist
The character who opposes the hero, heroine or protagonist

Atmosphere
The emotional feeling of the narrative created by dialogue, diction, setting and description

Audience
The reader(s)

AZW
Amazon's format for Kindle.

B

Backstory
Narrative providing history of the character’s past

C

Catharsis
Negative emotions that help either the character or audience

Character arc
A character’s personal development/growth

Characterization
The use of dialogue, thoughts, actions, appearance, etc. to develop the character

Chekhov's Gun Principal
Russian playwright Anton Chekhov quote:  "If in the first act you have a hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired.  Otherwise, don't put it there."  In other words, don't include any unecessary information in a story.

Cliché
An overused or trite expression

Cliffhanger
An ending that leaves the reader uncertain of the outcome

Climax
The moment of greatest intensity

Clip
A sample of published work

Comprehensive copyediting
See Line editing

Conflict
Opposition between characters, groups of characters, a character within him/herself or a character and a problem

Connotation
The meaning of the word that goes beyond the strict definition

Content editing
Stage of the editing process that focuses on structure, style and content

Copy editing
Stage of the editing process that focuses on grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, style and accuracy

Critique
A broad assessment of a piece of work identifying strengths and making suggestions for correcting weaknesses

D

Denotation
The strict definition of a word

Dénouement
See Resolution                              

Dialogue
Conversation in the narrative

Diction
The choice of words                              

Dramatic structure
The five stages are 1) problem definition, 2) conflict, 3) climax, 4) problem resolution, and 5) how the protagonist has changed

E

E-books
Any publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers and other digital devices.

E-Pub files
Files supported by Apple iBooks, B&N Nook, Adobe Digital Editions, Aldiko on Android, and others. Free and publically available. Similar in appearance to HTML.

Elevator speech/pitch
A 20- to 30-second verbal statement about your book, taking no longer than your average elevator ride between two floors. 


Epilogue
A conclusion or ending that follows the last chapter

Exposition
The summarization of background information

F

Flash forward
A scene (usually) that takes the narrative forward in time

Flashback
The narration of past events

Foreshadowing
When the narrator hints at or suggests something that will happen later in the narrative
 
Freelance
Getting paid by the hour, day or job, etc. rather than a salary

G

Genre
The classification or category of literature for the purpose of shelving a book
                                               

H

Head Hopping
Switches in point of view; going from one character’s thoughts to another’s
 
Hero
The main male character
 
Heroine
The main female character
 
Hook
Something that entices the reader to want to read more, usually the first sentence, paragraph or page
                                               

I

Imagry
Descriptive comparisons
 
Indie
Short for independent; published outside of mainstream publishing
 
Interior monologue
The narrator’s depiction of the internal thoughts of a character
                                                                                            

J

K

L

Line editing/comrehensive copyediting
The stage of the editing process that focuses on sentence structure, word use, tone, style, organization, characterization, writing conventions and consistency
                                               

M

Manuscript (MS)
The original handwritten or typed version of the author’s work
 
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to something it’s not (Example: caught my eye)

Mobi File
An open standard file for eBook publishing. Owned by Amazon. May have the .prc or .mobi extension.

Monologue
A character speaking out loud to him/herself
 
Mood
The feelings or emotional state of a character
                                               

N

Narrative
The story
 
Narrative arc
The stages of the narrative – beginning, middle and end
 
Narrator
The person telling the story
 
Non sequitors
Character responses that have no bearing on what was just said
 
Novel
Fictional prose narrative, typically more than 40,000 words
 
Novelette
Fictional prose narrative longer than a short story but shorter than a novella, typically 7,500 – 17,500 words
 
Novella
Fictional prose narrative longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel, typically 17,500 – 40,000 words
                                               

O

Omniscience
Knowing the feelings and thoughts of all the characters
 
On-spec
Short for on speculation, as in an agent will accept your work with no guaranty they will represent you
                                               

P

Persona
See Voice
                                               
Plot
The basic storyline
 
Point of view (POV)
Who is telling the story (first, second or third person)
 
Print on demand (POD)
Books printed as they are sold vs in large quantities
 
Prologue
Introductory material preceding the first chapter
 
Proofreading
Stage of the editing process that focuses on typos, spelling/punctuation errors, formatting mistakes and other minor mechanical problems
 
Prose
Written material that is not poetry
 
Protagonist
The main character
                                               

Q

Query, query letter
A letter written to pitch a piece of work, usually addressed to an agent, editor or publisher, to see if they are interested in representing the author
                                               

R

Resolution, dénouement
The outcome of a situation or sequence of events; aftermath
 

S

SASE
Self-addressed stamped envelope
 
Scene
Dramatic sequence of events
 
Sequel
A manuscript complete in itself but continuing the narrative of an earlier work
 
Setting
The general location and time period in which a scene takes place
 
Show, don’t tell
The use of words that allow the reader to experience the story through the character’s actions, dialogue, facial expressions, or through specific details rather than tell the reader what to believe
 
Simile
A comparison of two unlikely things using “as” or “like” (Example: built like a tank)
 
Style
Chosing words to fit the character or genre
 
Submission
A completed piece of work
 
Subplot
A minor or secondary plot
 
Subtext
What is hidden below the surface of a scene that contributes tension or conflict
 
Synopsis
A brief summary of the plot of a novel
 
Syntax
The methodical arrangement of words in a sentence; sentence structure
                                               

T

Tagline
The identification of who is speaking (he said, she said, etc.)
 
Tense
The time of the action expressed by the verb (past, present or future)
 
Text
A single work of literature
 
Theme
The central idea that ties the narrative together
 
Tone
The attitude conveyed by the character’s actions or dialogue
                                               

U

V

Voice, persona
The use of language to create believable characters and interesting stories; the style in which the narrative is presented, usually by syntax, diction, dialogue and tone
                                               

W

WIP
Work in progress
 
Writer’s block
A temporary interruption of an author’s ability to continue writing due to lack of creative thoughts

X,Y,Z