Fiction and Foundational Concepts

Bildungsroman

A literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood

Characterization

The process by which an author reveals and develops a character's personality, traits, and motivations, often through direct or indirect methods

Discriminated Occasion

A specific, discrete moment or event portrayed in a fictional work, often signaled by phrases that pinpoint time or context, and it's a key element in the narrative's structure and pacing

Fantasy

A genre of speculative fiction characterized by imaginary worlds, supernatural elements like magic and mythical creatures, and often explores themes of good versus evil and the power of imagination

Flashback

A narrative device where the author interrupts the chronological flow of the story to insert events that occurred in the past, providing context or revealing information that is crucial to the present narrative

Focus

Refers to the central theme, main point, or key idea that a piece of writing emphasizes and revolves around

Gothic Fiction

A literary genre characterized by a blend of horror, romance, and mystery, often featuring dark or decaying settings, supernatural elements, and exploration of themes like morality, the supernatural, and the psychological impact of the past

Hero/Heroine

A character, real or fictional, who demonstrates courage, strength, and often, nobility, in the face of adversity, admired for their achievements and qualities

Magic Realism

A literary genre that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction, often blurring the lines between the ordinary and the extraordinary, with these magical elements accepted as normal within the narrative

Metafiction

Writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its own status as a story or work of fiction, often exploring the relationship between fiction and reality, and the nature of storytelling itself

Narrator

The voice or character that tells a story

Narration

The act of telling a story, encompassing who tells it and how it's told, including the perspective, voice, and style

Narrative

A story or account of a series of related events, whether fictional or non-fictional, conveyed through a sequence of words, images, or a combination of both

Novel

A lengthy, fictional narrative work typically written in prose, exploring complex characters, plots, and themes, presented as a single book

Novella

A work of fiction that falls between a short story and a full-length novel in terms of length and complexity, typically ranging from 17,500 to 40,000 words

Realism

A movement that emerged in the mid-19th century, characterized by the accurate representation of everyday life, focusing on ordinary people, places, and events, without idealization or romanticism

Point-of-View

The perspective from which a story is told, or the narrator's relationship to the events and characters within the narrative

Romance

A genre of stories, often prose or verse, that center around love, chivalry, and daring deeds, with a focus on romantic relationships and typically featuring an emotionally satisfying, often happy, ending

Short Story

A brief work of fiction, shorter than a novel or novella, focusing on a single plot, a limited number of characters, and a concise time frame, aiming to convey a complete narrative experience within a tight word limit

Allusion

An indirect or implied reference to a person, place, event, or another work of literature that the author assumes the reader will recognize and understand, enriching the text with layers of meaning

Archetype

A universal, recurring symbol, theme, character type, or situation that represents fundamental human experiences and resonates across cultures and time periods

Canon

Refers to a collection of works considered representative of a specific period, genre, or author, and are widely recognized as important and influential

Convention

Refers to a widely accepted and understood element, trope, or technique that is commonly used within a specific genre or type of writing to create a particular effect or convey meaning

Diction

Refers to a writer's deliberate choice and use of words and phrases, encompassing both their meaning (denotation) and implied meaning (connotation), to create a specific effect and convey a particular tone or style

Drama

Refers to a form of storytelling, often intended for theatrical performance, that uses dialogue and action to convey a story, characters, and themes

Epigraph

A brief quotation, phrase, or snippet placed at the beginning of a book, chapter, or section, often used to set the tone, hint at themes, or provide context for the work that follows

Episode

A usually brief unit of action in a dramatic or literary work

Fable

A short, fictional story, often featuring anthropomorphized animals, that aims to convey a moral lesson or teach a valuable truth

Fiction

Stories, characters, and settings created from an author's imagination, distinct from factual accounts or non-fiction

Genre

A category of artistic composition, characterized by a particular style, form, or content, used to classify and organize literary works

Imagery

Refers to descriptive language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, touch) to create vivid mental pictures or sensory experiences for the reader

Legend

A traditional story or group of stories, often passed down through generations, that is believed to be based on historical events or figures, though not necessarily verifiable as factual

Myth

A traditional story, often involving gods, heroes, or supernatural events, that seeks to explain natural phenomena, cultural practices, or fundamental truths, serving as a cultural foundation and offering insights into a society's beliefs

Moral

Refers to a lesson or message conveyed by a story, event, or experience, concerning right and wrong behavior, often presented as a guiding principle or insight

Motif

A recurring element, such as an image, symbol, or idea, that appears throughout a story and often reinforces the themes

Nonfiction

Refers to writing that presents factual information, real events, and real people, as opposed to fiction which is based on imagination

Rhythm

Refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse, creating a flow and musicality that distinguishes poetry from prose

Parable

A short, didactic story, often featuring relatable characters or situations, that is designed to convey a moral, ethical, or spiritual lesson

Poetry

A form of literature that uses language creatively and imaginatively, often employing rhythm, rhyme, and vivid imagery, to evoke emotions and ideas, and explore experiences and themes

Rhetoric

The art of using language effectively to persuade, inform, or move an audience, encompassing both spoken and written communication

Setting

Refers to the time, place, and overall environment in which a story unfolds, encompassing both physical and social contexts, and crucial for establishing atmosphere and context

Situation

A problem, puzzle, or predicament with an obvious and direct solution

Syntax

Refers to the arrangement of words and phrases to form sentences, clauses, and other units of language, and how these units are structured to convey meaning and create specific effects

Style

Refers to the distinctive way an author writes, encompassing elements like tone, word choice, sentence structure, and overall voice, which collectively create a unique "signature"

Theme

The central idea or underlying message a writer explores throughout a story, often dealing with universal concepts and human experiences

Tone

Refers to the author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject matter, conveyed through diction, syntax, and other stylistic choices, influencing the reader's interpretation and emotional response

Time

Refers to the way authors manipulate and represent the passage of time, both within the story's narrative and the reader's experience, influencing themes, structure, and character development