Writing Definitions: Understanding All Those Terms

Please, if you have any other terms related to novel writing that you don't understand, contact me, and I will post the writing definitions on this page for everyone to use.

Adjective

A word that changes or deepens the meaning of a noun: He had iridescent blue eyes. Iridescent and blue both add to the meaning of "eyes".

Adverb

A word that changes or deepens the meaning of a verb, another adverb or an adjective. Many of these end in "ly", and should be used sparingly. She dropped her gaze diffidently. Diffidently describes her gaze.

Alliteration

One of my favorite attention-getting ploys for certain types of writing. Where the first letters (or a group of letter-sounds) of many of the words in a phrase are the same: Building Believable Bad Guys, one of my upcoming book titles, uses alliteration. You can read more details about this figure of speech on my alliteration page.

Analogy

Comparing two things in order to make them seem similar and make a meaning clearer: The best recipe for creating a great novel is to be sure all of your ingredients are present in the correct amounts, added at the right time. This is an example of an analogy between cooking and writing. You can read more about this figure of speech on my analogy page.

Antagonist

At its most basic, this is the bad guy (or bad girl). However, it can also be the environment, or something less tangible than a person, who is working against the protagonist, or good guy (or girl). You can get more details on creating great bad guys on my antagonist page.

Antonym

A word that means the opposite of a given word: You always climb up when you should jump down. Up and down are antonyms.

Book Review

Critics read books and give us a review of what they think - a book review. Novels can make you rich or make you want to disappear because of good or bad reviews. Just take those reviews with a grain of salt. Even the ones that trash a book may not fall in line with your opinion of whether a book is good or bad. I always feel it's better to read it myself and form my own opinions.

Brainstorming

Deliberately sitting down and trying to come up with a lot of ideas. You can do this alone or with others to try to solve plotting problems, character troubles or other novel writing dilemmas. You can read more about brainstorming on my creative writing tips page.

Byline

Simply a brief tribute to the author of an article or book, usually at the end of the written piece.

Cliche

A saying that is used so much it's lost it's impact. Avoid these whenever possible (unless you want to use them to create a humorous character who speaks in cliches...). Create your own new comparisons that fit the subject of your novel, instead. Here's an example of a cliche: He eats like a horse.You can read more about avoiding cliches on my similes page.

Climax

The high point, breaking point, telling point... The most important and exciting part of a novel. You can read a bit more about creating a climax at the bottom of my novel outline page.

Clips

Samples of your previously published articles. Don't panic if you don't have any. That doesn't mean you're not a good writer!

Conflict

The reason we read novels: the obstacles the protagonist must overcome to reach her goal. No good fiction lacks conflict, even if it isn't high-tension conflict. You can read more about creating good conflict on my drama page.

Contract

Formal agreement between two parties (people). When you get a publishing contract, it's probably best to have a lawyer who's familiar with writing contracts go over it and advise you before you sign it.

Copy Editing

Basically proofreading of your novel checking for spelling and grammar errors and final changes that need to be made. You can read more about types of editing on my editing services page.

Copyright

The exclusive legal right given to an author to print, publish, perform or record audio versions of his or her writings, or to authorize others to do so.

Cover Letter

Your one page chance to hook an agent or editor and convince him or her to take a chance on your novel. This is part of a package you send that includes the first three chapters of your novel and a synopsis of the rest.

Credits

Acknowledging those who helped you with your novel; more often this term refers to movies.

Crisis

The inciting incident that brings about the climax of a novel. Often the "worst that can happen" to your hero or heroine. You can read more about creating a crisis on my developing a plot page.

Deadline

The date by which your writing must be submitted. Publishing deadlines are created to be sure the process of getting a book into print flows smoothly. Don't miss deadlines, or you won't get work!

Description

Giving a representation - a verbal picture - of a person, place, object, emotion... any part of a novel you're trying to convey vividly to your readers. You can read more about creating vivid description on my description and related pages.

Dialogue

When two or more people are talking. You can read more about creating great dialogue on my essentials of writing fiction page.

Double Entendre

A word or phrase that can mean two things, the second often crude or obscene.

Edit, Editing

The act of making changes to your novel to improve the plot, characters, setting and details. You can read more about editing on my editing page.

Editor

One who edits, literally. However, editors at large publishing houses rarely offer editing comments to authors any longer. They work more on choosing books to publish and keeping the process going.

Euphemism

Saying something indirectly, in order to conceal an uncomfortable or embarrassing statement: Our company is downsizing is a euphemism for "We're firing a bunch of our employees."

Fantasy

In literary terms, a fantasy is a novel set in an imaginary world, often with unlikely events, characters and creatures. You can read more about writing fantasy on my fantasy fiction book page.

First Electronic Rights

If you give first electronic rights to your story to your publisher, that publisher has the right to publish your novel as an e-book or in other electronic format first, before anyone else. Later rights can go to someone else or revert to you, the author.

First North American Rights

Similar to the above, this means you've given permission for your publisher to be the first to publish your work in North America. Unless you specify how, that may give your publisher printing rights, electronic rights, audio rights, movie-making rights... Read your contract carefully and get legal advice before signing.

First Person

When you write a novel - or part of a novel - from "inside" one character's head and no one else's. First person is written using "I" and "me" and similar terms for your narrator (who is not always the protagonist in these stories!) You can read more about writing in first person on my point of view page.

First Print Rights

This is giving your publisher the right to be the first to print your work.

Flash Fiction

Extremely short fiction. I've heard limits of as low as 300 words. This is not a style I'm good at!

Formatting

Laying out your manuscript in a legible, clean format before you send it to an agent or editor for consideration. There are books describing the proper format for submitting manuscripts, so you have no excuse not to do it right.

Galley

Final printer's proof before a book is printed. Authors may or may not get to see the galley of their novel before it is printed. Try to be sure you have that right written into your contract, so you can look for last minute errors.

Genre/Category Fiction

Simply a category or style of writing that adheres to a loose set of rules and similarities. Fantasy, humor, horror... those are all novel genres. Nowadays, many books cross or combine genres and are harder to pigeonhole. You can read more about many genres of fiction on my fiction genres pages.

Ghostwriting

Helping someone with knowledge of a subject write a book on it. The ghostwriter rarely gets credit for the book. Only the authority who gives the writer the information for the book gets credited on the cover. You can read more about ghostwriting on my ghostwriting page.

Grammar

How things are said: "I ain't done it." is bad grammar, though perfectly acceptable in a novel that includes a poorly educated character who may speak that way.

Guidelines

Before you submit your writing anywhere, get the writer's guidelines that tell what each company accepts (genres, styles) and what format they want to get submissions in. Follow these guidelines!

Hero

The good guy, or protagonist. Make sure he's not perfect, or your readers will gag all over your book. You can read more about creating great protagonists on my protagonist page.

Heroine

The good girl, or protagonist. Again, make sure she's not too good. You can read more about creating great protagonists on my protagonist page.

Hysterical Fiction

My goofy term for humorous fiction. You can read more about writing humorous fiction on my fiction humor books page.

Line Editing

Checking that your word usage and reading level matches the style of your novel and your intended audience. You can read more about types of editing on my editing services page.

Metaphor

A figure of speech where one thing is linked to another dissimilar thing, showing an unexpected similarity between the two: My brother is a truck. He rolls over everyone. You can read more about this figure of speech on my metaphor page.

Noun

A person, place or thing. Susie is a proper noun (my name), mom is a noun describing something about me, Durango is the place I live near, and words are things I use daily.

Omniscient

All-seeing, all-powerful. In novels, omniscient refers to a point of view used to write the story. When you write in this mode, you can see into any character's mind and use anyone's viewpoint to tell the story. You can read more about writing in omniscient viewpoint on my point of view page.

Point of View

The character or characters through whom you tell your story. There are multiple points of view to choose from when writing. You can read more about different points of view on my point of view page.

POV

Acronym (the initials) for Point of View. See above. you can read more about POV and choosing the best one for your novel on my POV page.

Proofreading

Pretty much the same as copy editing: doing a final read-through of your novel to look for any punctuation and spelling errors, etc. You can read more about types of editing on my editing services page.

Protagonist

The good girl or good guy. Usually the person the novel is about and the main viewpoint character. Be sure your good guy or girl isn't too good. You can read more about creating great protagonists on my protagonist page.

Query Letter

A letter sent to an agent or editor to try to convince him or her to read at least a portion of your novel and consider it for publication. Writing a good query letter is very important!

Resolution

The wrapping up of all your loose ends and plotlines at the end of your novel. A good resolution satisfies your readers, yet makes them want more. You can read more about writing a good resolution on my developing a plot page.

Rights

Any sort of rights to do anything with your novel: print rights, electronic rights, audio publishing rights, movie rights...

Rising Action

The increasing conflict and action that lead up to the crisis and climax of your novel. Things should get progressively more "out of control" for your protagonist as the story moves along. You can read more about rising action on my developing a plot page.

Second Person

Another point of view you can write in. This one is both difficult to write and challenging to read, since we don't write or read in it, ordinarily. She rides the bus downtown and gets off three stops too soon, is in second person. Everything is put into "now" with this POV. You can read more about creating this point of view on my point of view page.

Setting

Where your novel takes place. There are overall settings, such as Paris, France, where your story is set, plus numerous smaller ones like the bedroom in your flat in Paris, the streets you walk to the nearest cafe... you get the idea. Setting should be tied into character and plot as much as possible. You can read more about creating vivid, appropriate settings on my setting page.

Simile

Comparing two things, usually using the word "like" or "as": My daughter is like the sunrise, all warm and shining with light. You can read more about this figure of speech on my simile page.

Slush Pile

The huge pile of unsolicited (not-asked-for) submissions of manuscripts that editors get from writers. If your novel's in the slush pile, it's going to take much longer to get read. Manuscripts that have been requested will get first chance.

Style Sheet

A guide for your novel listing spellings of unusual words, how to format chapter and section breaks, style and placement of page numbers and such. You can read more about types of editing on my editing services page.

Substantive Editing

Editing the "substance" of your novel. Making sure your style and tone match the genre and your plot, characters, setting and all are cohesive. You can read more about types of editing on my editing services page.

Synonym

A word that means the same thing or nearly the same thing as another word: Crooked and jagged are synonyms.

Third Person Limited

The point of view where you choose one or two main characters as your viewpoint characters for your entire novel. Third person is written with "he" and "her" and uses past tense (though the plot can still be pretty tense!). You can read more about creating this point of view on my point of view page.

Third Person Multiple

When you choose to use multiple characters for your viewpoint characters. If you use too many, it's just omniscient. You can read more about creating this point of view on my point of view page.

Verb

An action word; what someone does. Use strong, vivid verbs to bring your novel to life: He mangled her hopes with two words.

Villain

The bad guy, or antagonist. Be sure your villain is still "human", even if it's a creature, not a human. Don't just write a "bad" bad guy. Give him (or her) reasons to be bad and act they way he or she does. You can read more about creating villainous villains on my antagonist page.

Writing Mentor

Someone who guides and helps you through any or all of your novel writing processes, usually, but not always, being paid for the help. You can read more about writing mentors and choosing one on my writing mentor page.

I hope that all these writing definitions help you write better. And, as I mentioned at the top of the page, if you have any writing definitions you'd like to see added to the page, just contact me.

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