fictioncentral.net - fiction terms

FictionCentral.net Fiction Terms

Following is a list of commonly used terms in the original fiction world. If you have a new term you would like to submit, please contact our staff.

A : B : C : D : E : F : G : H : I : J : K : L : M : N : O : P : Q : R : S : T : U : V : W : X : Y : Z

A

Allegory-- using a specific character or situation in your writing to express a more general truth

Alliteration-- a series of words in a sentence all beginning with the same sound. (Remember the old tongue-twister "Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers"?)

Anagnorisis (recognition)-- When a character perceives what has happened (SG 157).

Analogy-- a comparison showing like parts of two unlike things. Remember those old tests? (foot is to person as paw is to cat, for instance)

Anaphora-- several consecutive sentences starting with the same group of words. (President Bush's speech is a good example: "We will not tire. We will not falter. We will not fail."

Antagonist-- Any force that is in conflict with the protagonist. An antagonist may be another person, an aspect of the physical or social environment, or a destructive element in the protagonist’s own nature (SS 554).

Antecedent Action-- What has happened in the past (SG 166).

Antonyms-- opposites (day and night, for instance)

Aside: A character speaks in the same presence of others but is understood not to be heard by them (SG 175).

C

Characterization-- What the characters do or say, by what other characters say about them, and by the setting in which they move (SG 179).

Cliche-- similar to a dead metaphor; an expression that has been widely overused. (Like saying something cost "an arm and a leg". Ugh!)

Climax-- The turning point or high point in a plot (SS555; SG 165).

Conflict-- A clash of actions, desires, ideas, or goals in the plot of a story. This may include “man against man,” “man against environment,” or “man against himself” (SS 555; SG 166).

Convention-- The tacit and sometimes unconscious agreement between artist and audience that allows objects and actions to become what they are not in reality (SG 174).

Crisis (or Crises)-- Moments or events which cause tension that lead to the play’s climax (SG 165).

D

Denouement-- French, defined by Merriam-Webster as the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work.

Dilemma-- A situation in which a character must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable (SS 555).

Double Entendre-- a phrase that can be interpreted in two different ways. Usually one of the meanings is slightly "off color". (While so common, this is a difficult one to find a good example of--let me know if you have any!)

E

Euphemism-- a phrase used in place of something disagreeable or upsetting ("passed on" instead of died)

Exposition-- The part of the play which tells the audience what it has to know about the past or antecedent action (SG 166).

F

Falling Action-- That segment of the plot which comes between the climax and conclusion (SS 556).

H

Hamartia (tragic flaw or error)-- The character trait or action which causes the tragic hero to come to grief (SG 157-158).

Homographs-- words that are spelled alike but pronounced differently and/or mean different things (Sahara desert and to desert someone, for instance)

Homonyms-- words that are spelled and pronounced alike but have different meanings (baby; an infant, and baby; to coddle, for instance)

Hyperbole-- deliberate exaggeration (scared to death)

I

Irony (dramatic)-- ironic deeds or situations – Actions that have some consequence more or less the reverse of what the doer intends; ironic speech – The speaker’s words mean one thing to him but something more significant to an audience; Sophoclean irony – Pervasive use of ironic deeds and speeches (SG 155-157).

M

Metaphor-- this is similar to a simile, but more direct. One word is used directly in place of another to suggest a relationship between them. Usually a metaphor says one thing is something else. (Rachel is a peach, for instance)

Dead Metaphor-- a metaphor that has lost its "force" through overuse. Most often not even recognized as a metaphor any more (being "over your head", for instance)

Mixed Metaphor-- an inconsistent metaphor ("That's water over the bridge", for instance; a cross of "water under the bridge" and "water over the dam")

O

Onomatopoeia-- a word that sounds like what it is (hiss, for instance)

Widows & Orphans-- In publishing lingo, a "widow" is the last line of a paragraph, printed alone at the top of a page. An "orphan" is the first line of a paragraph, printed alone at the bottom of a page. Many word processors offer features to control these in your documents.

Oxymoron-- a phrase composed of two words with contradictory meanings--"virtual reality", for instance

P

Peripeteia (reversal)-- When a deed or action backfires or has a reverse effect (see also ironic deeds or situations) (SG 157).

Personification-- giving living attributes to an inanimate object (leaves dancing in the wind)

Plot-- The sequence or incidents or events of which a story is composed (SG 164-169; SS 557).

Prologue-- A device to introduce the antecedent actions and characters in a play (SG 166-167).

Protagonist-- The central character in a story (SS 557).

R

Rising Action-- The development of plot in a story that precedes and leads up to the climax (SS 557; SG 165).

S

Setting-- The context in time and place in which the story takes places (SS 557; SG 176-178).

Simile-- the similarities of two separate things are shown through a comparison using the words like or as. (lips as red as cherry wine, for instance)

Soliloquy-- A solitary character speaks his thought aloud (SG 175).

Symbol (literary)-- Something that means more than what it is; an object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its literal meaning suggests other meanings as well (SS 558).

Synonyms-- words with the same meaning (happy and glad, for instance)

T

Theme-- The central idea or unifying generalization implied or stated by a literary work (SS 558).

V

Voice-- in writing, how you "sound" on the page. Your voice is your style, your tone, your unique way of telling a story.

W

Widows & Orphans-- In publishing lingo, a "widow" is the last line of a paragraph, printed alone at the top of a page. An "orphan" is the first line of a paragraph, printed alone at the bottom of a page. Many word processors offer features to control these in your documents.