Writing Vocabulary

Question 1

alliteration

Answer 1

Repeating the same sound in successive words, usually starting with the same letter.

Question 2

ambiance

Answer 2

The mood of a scene or setting.

Question 3

antagonist

Answer 3

An opponent or person who is hostile towards something.

Question 4

anti-hero

Answer 4

A repulsive character, but not a villain.

Question 5

archetypes

Answer 5

A typical character, action or situation that shows universal patterns of human nature.

Question 6

broad appeal

Answer 6

A variety of readers can identify with the story.

Question 7

character-driven

Answer 7

The internal conflict experienced by the protagonist is what drives the plot forward.

Question 8

characterization

Answer 8

How an author shows a character’s personality to their reader by using action, dialogue and thoughts.

Question 9

dark

Answer 9

The story has lots of violence and carnage.

Question 10

denouement

Answer 10

The final result of a main conflict in a story that comes after the climax and shows the secrets and misinterpretations connected to the plot.

Question 11

dystopia

Answer 11

A created world that could be considered hell for your reader. This includes post-apocalyptic worlds.

Question 12

fast-paced

Answer 12

the story is filled with action

Question 13

flash fiction

Answer 13

fiction written in 500 words or less

Question 14

genre

Answer 14

a category or theme of writing

Question 15

heavy handed

Answer 15

not written very well

Question 16

high-concept

Answer 16

a storyline that’s described in a single sentence that’s commercially feasible.

Question 17

introspective

Answer 17

the plot moves too slowly

Question 18

kicker

Answer 18

an unexpected plot twist

Question 19

lead

Answer 19

the first paragraph of your story

Question 20

loaded words

Answer 20

words slanted for or against a given subject

Question 21

manuscript

Answer 21

author’s copy of a novel, non-fiction writing, article or other writing work

Question 22

narrative

Answer 22

groups of events that’s the story in a certain order

Question 23

novel

Answer 23

fiction written in 45,000 words or more

Question 24

novella

Answer 24

Fiction written in 7,500 to 40,000 words

Question 25

outline

Answer 25

a brief description or list that shows the major action or ideas of a piece of writing.

Question 26

PB

Answer 26

picture book

Question 27

plot

Answer 27

the main events of a story

Question 28

plot-driven

Answer 28

the conflict comes from external sources, which drives the plot forward

Question 29

POD

Answer 29

Print on demand

Question 30

premise

Answer 30

the problem that forms the idea of the story

Question 31

proofreading

Answer 31

reading a piece of writing to weed out errors

Question 32

protagonist

Answer 32

the main character of a story who is responsible for moving the plot forward

Question 33

pseudonym

Answer 33

an alternate name used by an author if they don’t want to use their own

Question 34

revising

Answer 34

making changes to your writing

Question 35

rings true

Answer 35

like the author experienced it themselves

Question 36

royalties

Answer 36

revenue made by an author

Question 37

setting

Answer 37

where the story takes place

Question 38

short-story

Answer 38

fiction written in 7,000 words or less

Question 39

slush-pile

Answer 39

unsolicited manuscripts received by a publisher

Question 40

story-arc

Answer 40

the way fiction proceeds

Question 41

utopia

Answer 41

a created world that’s heavenly. Your reader would love to live in this perfect world.

Question 42

voice

Answer 42

the style, tone and intention a writer uses.