S O M E F I C T I O N T E R M S

ATMOSPHERE

The mood of a piece, related to setting. It can include everything from descriptions of place, to weather, to time of day.

BACKSTORY

The history of a character or characters as relevant to the present events of a story.

CLIMAX

The moment when all the conflict in a story culminates in a crisis point, after which the action falls and complications in the narrative are resolved.

CONFLICT

Tension arising from opposing forces.

DIALOGUE

Words spoken between two or more characters in a scene.

DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

The revelation of character through his or her appearance, action, dialogue, and thoughts.

DRAMATIC IRONY

The incongruity between what a character believes to be true and what the reader knows to be true.

EPIPHANY

A moment of realization by a character, or the reader, or both.

EXPOSITION

Explanation, usually through narration, of information essential to the story.

FALLING ACTION

The wrapping up of loose ends that follows the climax of a narrative.

FLASHBACK

Scene of a prior event juxtaposed against a current scene. Usually triggered by a current event or by a character's memory.

FORESHADOWING

Clues or hints as to what will happen later in a story.

IMAGE

Anything that has been rendered by any one (or more) of the five senses.

INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION

The revelation of character through the author's or another's characters judgments of him or her.

METAPHOR

A direct comparison of two unlike things.

NARRATOR

The character or voice telling the story.

OMNISCIENT NARRATOR

A godlike intelligence that knows everything about the universe of the story or novel.

PLOT

The series of events or actions that make up a story, arranged in a specific order, and told in a particular way by a narrator.

POINT OF VIEW

The perspective from which the events of the story are narrated. Can be first person, second person, or third person.

RESOLUTION

The point at which the story's elements come together in an emotionally satisfying way.

RISING ACTION

In a traditional story or novel, those plot points that steadily increase the tension of a piece until it reaches its climax.

SCENE

A dramatic episode in a story that takes place between specific characters in a particular setting.

SETTING

The location and time in which a story or novel occurs. The physical surroundings, as described by a narrator.

SIMILE

A comparison of two unlike things, using "like" or "as."

SITUATIONAL IRONY

The contrast between what happens and what was expected to happen (or what seems appropriate).

STYLE

The distinctive techniques or methods used by a writer to approach elements like point of view, syntax, and imagery that contribute to his or her unique voice.

SYMBOL

A concrete object or image that has a meaning beyond its literal sense, or that stands for something beyond itself.

THEME

Frequently recurring idea incorporated throughout a work.