A glossary of important terms in fiction writing.

1. fictionwritingterms
A Glossary of

2. allegory
alliteration
antagonist
assonance
a narrative technique in which
characters represent things or
abstract concepts to convey a
message or to teach a lesson.
a series of words in a sentence all
beginning with the same sound.
the main character in a work of
fiction who comes into conflict
with the protagonist.
using words that have the same or
very similar vowel sounds near
one another (as in "summer fun"
and "rise high in the bright sky").

3. characterization
climax
conflict
connotation
the method used by a writer to
make a character in a story seem
like a real person.
the most exciting and important
part of a story, usually occurring
at or near the end.
a struggle, disagreement, or
difference between opposing
forces in a literary work, usually
resolved by the end of the work.
an idea or quality that a word
makes you think about in addition
to its dictionary definition.

4. DENOTATION
DÉNOUEMENT
DIALOGUE
DICTION
the precise/actual meaning of a
word outside of the feelings it
evokes; the dictionary meaning of
a word or phrase.
the resolution or final outcome of
the main dramatic complication.
a written composition in which
two or more characters are
represented as conversing.
the choice of words, especially
with regard to correctness,
clearness, or effectiveness.

5. FigurativeLanguage
flashback
foil
foreshadowing
language that does not mean
exactly what it states but instead
requires the reader to an
association from the comparison.
when a relevant past event is
brought up in the current time of
the story.
a character in a story whose
purpose is to bring out certain
characteristics in either the main
character or in other characters.
to give a suggestion of something
that will happen in the story.

6. image
imagery
irony
a mental picture or representation
of a person, place, or thing.
the images collected and used in a
written work to add to the
ambiance.
incongruity between situations
developed in a drama and the
accompanying words or actions
that are understood by the
audience but not the characters.

7. METAPHOR
MOOD
MOTIF
a figure of speech in which a word
or phrase denoting an object or
idea is used in place of another to
suggest a likeness between them.
a conscious state of mind or
predominant emotion.
A recurring salient thematic
element, especially a dominant
idea or central theme.

8. PERSONIFICATION
PLOT
POINTOFVIEW
PROTAGONIST
attributing human characteristics
to something that is not human
(i.e., a thing, an animal, or an
abstraction).
a the direction of a story's main
events and incidents and how
they relate to one another.
the angle from which a story is
told or narrated. Point of view can
be first person, objective, limited
omniscient, or omniscient.
the principal or main character in
a literary work.

9. SETTING
STYLE
SYMBOL
SYNTAX
the time, place, and conditions in
which the action of a story takes
place and which establish its
context.
the ways in which an author
chooses to write, including how he
or she arranges sentences,
paragraphs, dialogue, and verse.
an object or act representing
something in the unconscious
mind that has been repressed.
the way in which linguistic
elements (as words) are put
together to form constituents
(such as phrases or clauses)

10. THEME
TONE
TRAGICHERO
an idea abstracted from its details
of language, character, and
action, and cast in the form of a
generalization.
a particular pitch or change of
pitch constituting an element in
the intonation of a phrase or
sentence.
a protagonist whose story comes
to an unhappy end due to his or
her own behavior and character
flaws.