a  freedom fighter before the movie starts. When the movie starts

                          he is a club owner who stays out of politics reverts  back to being

                          a freedom fighter to save the husband of the woman he  has

       always loved.] 

Dialogue - The words spoken by the characters.

Drama – Greek word meaning “action”.  Drama has highly developed characters 

               and a highly emotional theme. (Henrik Ibsen’s A Dolls House)

Dramatic Irony - When the reader knows something the character doesn't know.

                             For example, the character is rushing to the hospital because he

                             has been shot. However, the reader knows the street ahead has

                             been closed off.

Elevated Language – Grammatical preciseness used to indicate a higher status, 

                                    real or perceived (self-important, pretentious, politician 

                                    talking down to a disagreeable constituent).

Epigram - A quote or saying. Example: Will Rogers, "I never met a man I didn't

                  like."

Epigraph – Placed at the beginning of a story, or chapter to set the stage for what 

                   is coming. My chapters in The Stolen Concept have epigraphs rather 

                   than chapter numbers (Chapter one has the epigraph, The Blood

                   Bath).

Epilogue – A comment at the end of the story for explanation purposes. (Puck's 

                   speech at the end of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's 

                   Dream. 

Epitome – exemplifies the most or least desirable aspects of a person, place of 

                  thing. (Hitler is the exemplification of evil in its purest form.)

Euphemism – The use of one word or phrase to convey the meaning of another. 

                         (He’s not all there instead of he’s insane.)

Event Centered - The story revolves around and takes place within the confines

                             of a particular event.  When the event concludes, so does the

                             story.  The characters are viewed in relation to the event

                             Apollo 13 was an event story.  My short story, The

                             Ceremony, was an event story.  When the Apollo mission ended

                             so did the story. When the ceremony ended so did the story.

Expository Writing – Used to inform the reader of things not expressed through 

                                    dialogue. Jack was twenty years old.) Exposition generally 

                                    does not move The plot forward, and may slow down the 

                                    pace, or weaken the scene.

Fiction: According to WikipediA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiction)

• Flash fiction: A work of fewer than 2,000 words. (1,000 by some definitions)
• Short story: A work of at least 2,000 words but under 7,500 words.
• Novelette: A work of at least 7,500 words but under 17,500 words.
• Novella: A work of at least 17,500 words but under 60,000 words.
• Novel: A work of 60,000 words or more.
• Epic: A work of 200,000 words or more.

Figurative Language – Symbolic.  Comparing different things.  The similarities

                                      are unique, surprising.  (He came through here like a

                                      cheetah in pursuit of a gazelle, and just as graceful.)

Figure of Speech – The use of simile, metaphor, colorful phrase or sentence,

                                irony, or synecdoche to express a thought or give an

                                explanation. Example: “He’s only rowing with one oar,”

                                to say, in effect, “He’s not all there.”

Flat Characters – They are; two-dimensional uninteresting, used to contrast

                             rounded characters. Secondary characters used to reveal

                             information; they don’t require complexity or background, as an

                             example.)

Foil – A secondary character who contrast with the main character.

          (Lieutenant Dan was the foil to Forest Gump.)

Foreshadow - Giving the reader limited information, predicting something is going

                      to happen further into the story.

Hyperbaton - Word order is changed for emphasis or effect. ("Size matters not." 

                      Yoda in Star Wars) Use this divide cautiously, for it can disrupt the

                      word flow and pull the reader out of the story. Disruptive example:

                      My daughter, Mary, a terrific psychologist, wrote the book.

Hyperbole – Exaggeration used in dialogue.  Example: “Stop banging incessantly

                     on that damned piano.  You are killing me.”

Idiomatic Expression – Local conventions of expression. (That was “a bit much,”

                                       don’t you think?) - meaning it was excessive.

Imagery – Visually inspiring words. Example: His cheeks puffed outward, forcing

                 the air past his lips in short explosion, while he continually, and

                 futilely, wiped at the sweat, which poured down his brow.  Wiping his

                 hands on his thighs, they slipped uncontrollably down to his knees,

                 which gave way, and he sunk to the ground in defeat as the rest of the

                 marathon rushed pass.

Inciting Action - The single action that sparks the main action that carries through

                             the whole story.  It is the one element which drives the story

                             forward to the climax.  (In The Stolen Concept, it isn't when

                             Larry has blood dripping into his bath water and notifies the

                             authorities, but when the police name him as the only suspect.)

Irony – The incongruity between expectation and outcome. Example: While she

             knelt in prayer for a miracle to spare her from the deadly cancer, the huge

             chandelier careened down upon her, killing her instantly.

Jargon - An unintelligible, outlandish language or dialect.

Main Character – The character with whom the reader empathizes with the most.

                             (Luke Skywalker in Star Wars)

Metonym – A word or phrase used in place of another word or expression to

                    convey the same meaning.  (The White House refers to the politicians

                    working there. "Check out the skirt," meaning, look at that girl.)

Motif – The Theme.

Narrative – To tell the story of an experience.  To reveal something, depict

                    characters or settings.  Showing instead of telling. (Almost all of Sir

                    Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, stories were narrated by his

                    close friend, Dr. Watson.

Negotiation - When characters barter over an object or act for the purpose of

                       arriving at mutual agreement.  The object of using negotiation is

                       to reveal the deeper issues that exist between the characters. (In

                       Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, there is a

                       continual negotiation between Blanche who wants the respect

                       she believes she is due, while Stanley wants her to stop acting

                       like she is better than everyone else.)

Norm Character - represents the normal person or normal world by which the

                              reader gauges the abnormality of another or other characters. 

                              The norm is usually found in comedy. (Luke Skywalker as the

                              norm and Han Solo as the loose cannon.)

Omniscient POV – The thoughts of all significant characters are known and

                                expressed by the narrator. Example: She could feel someone

                                watching her as she crossed the street.  The boy sensed that she

                                knew she was being watched.

Onomatopoeia – Sounds in written from (ZZZzzzz for sleeping, Grrrrr for

                             growling).

Oxymoron – A seemingly contradictory statement (You always hurt the one you

                      love.).

Pace – Determined by sentence length, dialogue, exposition.  The rate at which the

            story flows forward.  Example: slow pace = Robin wore the red sweater

            which her favorite Aunt gave her for her birthday.  She knew her Aunt

            would be delighted when she saw her getting out of the car.  She smiled at

            the thought of her Aunts reaction. Faster pace = Robin smiled as she

            alighted from the car. “Is that the sweater I gave you for your birthday?” 

            Her Aunt beamed. “Yes, I just love it, and this is the perfect time to show

            it off.”

                                    - If it reads faster, the pace is faster. -

Parallelism – Using same or similar sentence structure (all gerunds or all

                       infinitives, verb placement, adjective or advert placement, repetitive

                       beginnings to phrase). Examples: He was burning with desire and

                       she was fanning the flames.  It was a slow burn, which she could fan

                       into a blaze.  He would run from home to work, then he would

                       walk from his work to his home.  The cat was black.  The dog was 

                       white. OR  It was a black cat and a white dog.

Persona - A character's personality, either real or assumed.

Personification – Inanimate objects are given human qualities.  Example: With

                              the dedication of a zealot, the arrow unwaveringly flew toward

                              its prey, ignoring the pleas of its victim.

Point of View (POV) – First person; I watched her cross the street. Second

Polar Arc – Dramatic change in the protagonist’s character. (Luke Skywalker in

                    Star Wars, changed from a mild farm boy to a Jedi Knight, from

                    repairing farm equipment to defeating the Empire.)

Power Struggle - One of the two possible types of stories.  The main conflict

                              of the story is a power struggle.  It could be political,

                              psychological (internal or external), good versus evil,

                              economical, a control issue, or whatever else people struggle

                              over. J.K. Rowlings, Harry Potter series are power struggle

                              stories. The power struggle is between good and evil.

Progression - Moving the story forward.  A question is raised, then answered,

                       bringing to light another question or questions that must be

                       answered.  They are small arcs, growing in size and building to a

                       climax.

Protagonist – The central character who moves the story forward. (Han Solo -

                       Star Wars)

Raisonneur - A character who speaks for society or the author; customarily, the

                      raisonneur knows more than the gives advice to the protagonist.

                      other characters and participates in the action, but usually has litttle

                      direct effect on the action, giving this character credibility with the

                      reader.

Register - How a person speaks or writes in compliance with the accepted norms

                   while participating in a particular role. (Informal role; Hi I'm Chuck.

                   Formal role; Hello, I am Charles Getwell. Professional; Hello, I am

                   Doctor Getwell.) [Characters should be true to their dialect and the

                   particular register format of the scene in which you have placed them.]

Relationship Story - One of two types of possible stories. The main conflict

                                   is over building of destroying relationships. Most stories are

                                   relationship stories.

Repartée - A witty verbal exchange between characters such as between King

                  Henry II (Peter O'Toole) and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine

                  Hepburn).

Resolution – The main conflict is resolved, favorably or unfavorably for the

                       protagonist.

Rhythm – When conjunctions are used, place the shorter phrase first. Use 

                 correlative conjunctives in real long sentences (nor, or, both, only, 

                 also), or create balance using length, complexity, negative, and

                 positive.  Example: He wanted to buy a new car and drive it all the

                 way across country.  However, he stayed home because the new car

                 took all of his money. More rhythmic: He bought a new car so he 

                 could drive across country.  However, he stayed home because it took

                 all of his funds to buy the car. Even more rhythmic: He couldn’t afford

                 to both buy a new car and drive across country.  He could either buy a

                 new car, or drive across country.

Scene – A piece of action that moves the story forward and gives the reader

             needed information. It could be a paragraph, or a chapter.  A scene is a

             progression comprised of related arcs

Sensory Detail – describing the setting, and character awareness using all or some

                            of the five senses.  Example: The girl could feel the hairs on the

                            nape of her neck bristle as she sensed the terror of being stalked,

                            she could feel eyes piercing her clothes.  She could smell the

                            stench of fear emanating from her armpits.

Sentence Fluency – The way individual words and phrases sound together. (The

                                 big black dog bounded through the barnyard – The dog that

                                 hot-tailed it through the barnyard was big, and as black as

                                 night.)

Setting – The place and time of a scene or story providing an atmosphere to set the

                mood and provide a means of emotional and geographical reference for

                the reader.

Simulacrum – A representation of reality (The Truman Show, Matrix,)

Slang - An informal, nonstandard vocabulary.

Stereotype Character – Recognized by speech, mannerisms, beliefs, emotional

                                      displays, etc. (The military leader who controls his home

                                      and family as though it were a boot camp.)

Stichomythia - Rapidly delivered dialogue in which the characters deliver

                         alternating lines, where in each character finishes the other's

                         thoughts.

Stock Characters – or “archetypes”, which emulate the traits or the attributes of a 

                                particular type of person, possibly displaying stereotypical

                                traits. (Drunken Irishman, The loner who follows his own

                                rules.)

Stock Situation - frequently used plots; rags to riches, boy meets girl, etc.

Structure – How the story elements are organized.  It is part of the author’s style.

Style – The personality, voice, and thoughts of the author shown through sentence

            structure, word choice and grammatical usage. Example: Tolken is very

            descriptive, Faulkner is very wordy, and Grisham creates momentum

            by increasing the action in greater degrees, building to a climax.

Subplot(s) – Minor plots that complement and add complexity to the main plot. 

                     They make the story richer while helping to move it forward. (The

                     romantic implications in Star Wars)

Subtext - The unspoken part of communication presented through body language,

                choice of words, manner of presentation, and setting.

Suspension of Disbelief – The reader believes in the story, or scene.

Symbolism – Using an object, word, phrase, or character repetitively to represent

                       an idea. For example in Waiting for Godot the play opens on a

                       deserted road that gives one the impression that the road leads

                       nowhere, symbolizing the futility of the lives led by Estragon and

                       Vladimir, the protagonists.  The road is a physical symbol. 

                       Estragon worries about physical pain; his boots hurt his feet, while

                       Vladimir suffers mental pain or anguish, because “nothing can be

                       done,” a phrase that is repeated throughout the play.  The ‘hurt’ and

                       ‘suffering’ are symbolic of the physical and mental misery of those

                       who rely on others for their well being.  The pain and suffering are

                       emotional symbols.

Synecdoche – Figurative language such as “The Big Apple” meaning New York

                        City.

Theme – The concept being explored in the work (In my murder/mystery novel,

               The Stolen Concept, the adequacy of police procedurals is explored.).

Tone – The attitude of a character, or even the writer (intimate, angry, happy, etc.)

Tragedy – The main Character and or protagonist suffers a terrible fate.

Trigger Words - dialogue the compels the other character(s) to respond in a

                           compelling and revealing manner.  The opposing character must

                           challenge, object or modify what the first character has said.

                           In The Stolen Concept, Peggy triggers an outburst from Larry.

                           "Damn it Larry. Don't do this to me." 

                            Larry whirls around. "What do you want me to say?  You are

                            free to die for me.  Is this what you want me to hear?"

Trochees - Words containing one long syllable and one shor syllable, or a stressed syllable

                  and an unstressed syllable. (A pyrotechnic display of gunfire was caused by

                  backfiring police vehicles.)

Voice – The way your words sound on the page.  Your unique style of telling the

              story as expressed through your characters, exposition, and  narration.

Well Rounded Characters – have complexity and backgrounds. They are

                                               expressive, volatile, compassionate, etc. (The

                                               protagonist and the antagonist, for example.)

Word Choice – Expressing yourself clearly and precisely.

Word Play - Verbal fencing, punning, or mock bickering. Example: The Lion in

                      Winter - most of the scenes between Peter O'toole and Katherine

                       Hepburn.