Creative Writing - U5 - Midterm

Genre

A category of anything artistic

Foil character

A character that has specific traits opposed to the protagonist

Element

A component of one of the parts of something larger

Anti-hero

A hero who lacks the traditional characteristics of a protagonist

Dynamic Character

A literary or dramatic character who undergoes an important inner change (in personality or attitude); most will also be central characters

Flashback

A narrative device where a scene from the past is pulled into the present

Plot Twist

A significant change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a story

Climax

A single action-packed sequence where the story reaches resolution; the highest/most intense part of a story

Lyrical poetry

A type of poetry that expresses personal emotions or feelings, usually from the first-person perspective

Narrative

A written account of connected events, a story; occurs mostly in first-person stories and is a strong voice within the writing that can be used to regularly refer to the theme

Journaling

Began in the 10th centruy; a way of finding "gems" in your writing

Gothic Fiction

One example of a genre that is heavily influenced by its setting

Appearance

One of the first ways that a reader can tell one character apart from another in your story

Writing with your ears

Reading your work aloud; an effective way of testing the flow of your story

Show, don't tell.

Remember this mantra to help you consider how you will introduce information about time without coming right out and saying it

Demand of creativity

That you are in touch with yourself, your perceptions of things, and how you feel

Conceptualization

The act of formulating a plan

Juxtaposition

The act of placing something side by side for comparison

Exposition

The act of setting forth the beginning of a story

Omniscient narrator

The all-seeing teller (narrator) in a story

Theme

What the author is trying to tell the reader, even if it's not done in a straightforward manner; also referred to as the "moral of the story"; many of these from the past are still written about today; a unifying or dominant idea in a work of fiction; this will dictate your audience

Setting

Location and time-scape of a story; helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story

Composite

Made up disparate or separate parts or elements

Flow

Made up of the magical combination or cadence and paragraph construction; part of one of the first steps of finding your personal process

Poetry

Many people say that this is felt rather than read

Types of Creative Non-fiction

Memoirs, essays, personal narratives, autobiographies, and biographies

Falling action

The period after the climax, when things are settling down

Symbolism

The practice of representing ideas with simpler objects or events

Drama

The vindictive narration that the creature in Frankenstein uses is an example of this.

Syntax

The way in which words are used in conjunction with each other; "Word choice goes way beyond simple choosing individual words"

Writer's Voice

The way that a writer displays their personality and imagination on the page

Memories

These give characters texture

Cadence

They rhythmic flow of a sequence of words or sounds; give writing a sense of rhythm and pace

Time of Year

This alludes to seasons that can convey wonderful layers of sensory information.

Time

This has a great impact on the story. As characters move through the story, this passes. You will need a notion

Storyline

This involves two key things: characters and a conflict

Inspiration

This is needed before you can capture the essence of creation and creativity

Audience

This is who the writer must consider in order to effectively use style and ensure that the style is suited to them

Resolution

This part of a story generally occurs during the denouement phase of your plot structuring

Descriptive poetry

This style of poetry was particularly popular during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries in Europe

Backdrop

This type of setting does not provide significance to the story

Integral

This type of setting is critical to the storyline. Here, the setting affects the characters, what they do, and how the plot and tone develop. It is integral to the telling of the story and, if removed, would considerably damage the effect.

Rising Action

This will take the reader through the journey necessary to reach the protagonist's destiny.

Where writer's block comes frome

Timing, FEAR, perfectionism,

Autobiography

An account of a person's life written by that person

Relatability

An aspect of characterization in which you want the reader to understand, and on some level, care about your character, even if they don't like them

Conflict

An engaging story feeds on this; a fight, battle, struggle, or strife

Major theme

An idea that an author repeats throughout the work, therefore making it the most significant thought in the writing

Minor theme

An idea that appears briefly in a work and gives way to another minor theme

Everyday moments

An incredible amount of inspiration can be drawn from the power found in these.

Actions

Characters are defined by these

Elapsed time

Conveys the idea of time passing

Subject

Do not confuse this with theme

Tone

How characters interact with the setting with create this. Matching this to the setting makes sense, but is also predictable.

Plot

Drives the story forward; consists of a clear beginning, middle, and end that offers a climax

Expository

Explanatory

Characterization

Fleshing out the figures who will play major roles in a story

Sketch writing

Generally contains little to no plot; is often considered less complicated than larger works of fiction

Style

Includes all the choices a fictional writer makes from word choice to structure to timing; the way in which something is written; the "wrapping paper" for your message

Characteristics

It is essential to establish these for anyone involved in a story

Characters

It is very important to consider these when creating your setting and you must think about where they will go in your setting. They are inextricably linked to their setting.

Sentence Structures

Simple, compound, complex, compound-complex; relate to how many subjects and verb phrases are in a sentence

Freewriting

Typically conducted as a prewriting activity; has no rules or guidelines

Ways to alleviate writer's block

Taking a walk, eliminating distractions, moving your body

Anatgonist

Usually the character who stands in opposition to the protagonist; often (but not always) the villian

Perspective

The angle from which something is viewed

Words

The basis for creating the voice or tone of a writer's work; must be chosen carefully as they are they main tool a writer has

Fiction

The composition of non-factual prose texts

Ray Bradbury

The famous author who said, "Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper."

Worldbuilding

The fictional creating of a new world; start small with this

Denouement

The final resolution of the intricacies of a plot

Creative Non-fiction

The genre of fiction that is often referred to as a rich mix of different ideas, techniques, and methods

Free association

The goal of this activity is not to think, but to just write; first used in psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

Protagonist

The main character of the story, often (but not always) the hero

Brainstorming

The method of generating ideas through harnessing the brain's energy into a "storm"

Atmosphere

The mood of the environment

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The oldest written story know to exist

Write

The one essential thing that a writer must do on a daily basis

Flash-forward

The opposite of a flashback. This gives readers a glimpse of what's to come and ups the stakes of the plot.

Direct Characterization

When the author directly and explicitly tells the reader what the character is like

First person narration

When the pronoun "I" is used and the narrator is a character in the story

Diction

Word choice; helps to set creative writing in a specific time period, setting, socio-economic level, or purpose

The power of observation

Writers rely on this and must pay close attention to the details around them in order to incorporate them effectively into their prose

Reality

You must rely, at least partially, on this when creating all settings - even fictional ones

Overthink the process

You should not do this as a writer

Rough Draft

You will likely complete one of these before a final draft