An Author's Life for Me

By MedicineFlower - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in On Writing

Thursday, December 9, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon

literary novel a novel that does not attempt to tell a story, but might (quite accidentally). However, the term is applied by different schools at different times as a snub to novels that do purposely tell a story (genre novels). Unfortunately, because of this, the term has become meaningless in... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 78

eclogue a poetic exchange between two shepherds. I have never used this form, and probably never will. Not to be confused with an eclair, a device I make frequent use of when I run out of Veronas and Milano cookies. Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 77

dystopian novel a work set in a futuristic world that proports to be Utopian, but is indeed deeply flawed. A famous example is Philip Dick's Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep (Blade Runner). Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 76

emblem word or object that contains symbolic meaning and is brought forward to support the theme. Example from that most emblematic of works, Lord of the Flies - Ralph's hair (which covers his eyes) = the inability to see clearly, in contrast to Piggy's specs. Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, November 29, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 75

the slush pile the stack of manuscripts usually found under an Acquisition Editor's desk after given a cursory scan, rejecting them. They usually linger there for months to give the appearance of serious consideration and, once in an atomic moon, one might be retrieved and given a more earnest read.... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 74

measure the length of a single line of text. The measure dictates legibility and choice of point size, because the human eye can easily get lost when transitioning from one line to another. This standard depends on space between lines (leading), paragraph justification (raggged right or left... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, November 26, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 73

onomatopoeia the assignment of sound to replace description, sometimes to add a sound track to writing, sometimes humor. It sometimes adds tension, especially when timepieces are involved (tick tock). It's most effective when placed where it carries a wealth of already seeded attributes. For example... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 72

View restricting (now called camcording ) writing in first person present tense to severely restrict the point of view so that the reader can only see what the narrator sees, experiencing it as it happens. A difficult mode to sustain for both reader and writer. However, it has been done (witness... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 71

Pathetic fallacy assigning a human attribute to a inanimate object. ie. the singing wind, the weeping trees, a compassionate banana. (I'd like to see all these in one sentence). Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, November 19, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 70

Cosmic irony the portrayal of fate, destiny or the Universe as indifferent or hostile to humankind. The classic example are the many Thomas Hardy's novels and his cosmically tortured characters. Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

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