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

Monday, November 1, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 61

synecdoche using part of an entity to represent the entire entity. Useful in dialog, but in certain narative. Examples are my wheels for my car, my windows for my house, my medical degree for my doctor and my alimony payment for my ex-wife. Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 60

episodic novel structure a loosely sewn series of events and scenes that need to coalesce into a whole in order to succeed. These are generally held together by a protagonist that holds the reader's sympathy throughout. Examples are Don Quixote, Candide and most traditional Chinese novels - Outlaws... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 59

falling action, better known as the denouement a point in the story where the protagonist manages the story action and the story's intricacies are resolved. Some authors leave us dangling without a denoument, but readers usually resolve it with their own denouement. They toss the book away (or... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon - 58

apotheosis scene technically, raising a subject to devine status, but in writing, the construction of a scene so lofty that it becomes iconic and sacrosanct. Generally, it's left to the last scene and is an act hard to follow, unless you have a curtain call. A movie equivolent would be the last... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 18, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 57

parenthetical clause sometimes known as tits on a bull. An interrupt phrase that acts as an aside to the main subject and is set off in parenthesis (). The same effect can be achieved by employing a typographical em-dash ( — ) which I've enclosed parenthetically. While the em-dash creates a pause, a... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 56

epiphany moment the point where a character is turned by a sudden flash of development — like Saul becoming Paul. In character-driven novels, it is the turning point in the story. However, it doesn't need to come mid-point. It can be effective as a starting point, especially in short fiction. Edward... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 55

Interior monologue the recorded thoughts of a character (and in this case, the POV character). These are sometimes in first person mode (stream-of-consciousness). Interior monologue in third person limited POV is general set off in italics and dialog tagged. If he gives me another piece of jargon to... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 54

Synoesthesia a phrase that uses one sense to describe another. Sometimes it's ironic or even humorous. At other times it blend together in a duo-sense. Example: Hang them up and see what they say. Edward C. Patterson Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, October 11, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 53

litote an understatement created by a double negative. IE. He was not unfriendly. Double negatives are Miss Precious Pipkin (the grammarian)'s nightmare and sure to get you a D on the anal-retentive scale. However, littes are often used by authors and by people that come from Brooklyn (like me,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

A Reader's Guide to Author's Jargon 52

chiamus what I call Yoda speak. This is where two clauses are reversed for effect. So, You are a Jedi Knight, becomes A Jedi Knight, you are. It can be awkward in dialog if the character doesn't normally speak that way. How it can be very effective in narrative to raise tension. Like all things in... Sign in to see full entry.

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