Glossary
Writing & Storytelling Terms Cliffhanger, plot, point of view – there are many terms around writing you hear again and again. Here we explain them briefly and clearly, with an eye on what actually helps when you write. Pick a term and read up.
Structure & Tension Cliffhanger A cliffhanger is a deliberately open, high-tension ending – of a scene, a chapter or an episode – that leaves a quest… Climax The climax is the peak of a story: the moment of greatest tension, where the central conflict is decided. The resolut… Conflict Conflict is the resistance a character works against – a desire that meets an obstacle. Without conflict there is no … Exposition Exposition is the introduction of a story: where readers meet the key characters, place, time and starting situation … Flashback A flashback interrupts the present of the action to show an earlier scene. It delivers backstory not as a report but … In medias res „In medias res“ (Latin for „into the middle of things“) means opening in the midst of the action – with no long intro… Narrative Arc The narrative arc describes how tension develops across a story – from a calm opening through rising action to the cl… Novella The novella is a middle form between the short story and the novel. It concentrates on a single, extraordinary event … Pacing Pacing is the speed of the telling: the interplay of fast, dense passages and slow, detailed ones – and thus a key to… Plot The plot is the story's action: the chain of events, linked by cause and effect, that carries the characters from a s… Plot Twist A plot twist is a surprising turn that casts the story in a new light: something the reader took for certain is sudde… Prologue & Epilogue A prologue is an opening placed before the first chapter; an epilogue a closing placed after the ending. Both stand o… Suspense Suspense is the agonising, delicious wait for something that is coming: the tension that arises when the reader sense… Through-Line The through-line is the continuous thread that holds a story together: the central concern that connects every scene … Turning Point A turning point is the moment a story changes direction – a decision, an event or a revelation after which nothing co… Style & Technique Dialogue Dialogue is the characters' spoken word. Good dialogue characterizes, drives the plot, and lives above all on what is… Foreshadowing Foreshadowing means small hints that suggest later events. It ensures that turns surprise and yet feel inevitable in … Interior Monologue Interior monologue renders a character's thoughts directly – usually in the first person and present tense, just as t… Irony Irony is the gap between what is said or shown and what is actually meant or true. Someone who says „just great“ whil… Leitmotif A leitmotif is a deliberately recurring element – an image, a phrase, an object – that runs through a story and gives… Metafiction Metafiction is storytelling aware of itself: a text that reveals it is invented – for instance when the narrator addr… Metaphor A metaphor carries an image from one domain to another: a word stands not for what it literally means but for somethi… Mood & Atmosphere Mood (or atmosphere) is the feeling a text creates in the reader – ominous, melancholy, light. It arises from word ch… Setting The setting is the place where a scene or story happens – the concrete space of the action. It is more than a backdro… Show, don't tell „Show, don't tell“ is the advice to depict feelings and states rather than name them: not „she was sad“, but the tear… Subtext Subtext is what resonates without being said – the real meaning beneath the surface of dialogue and action. In short … Symbol A symbol is a concrete object, image or action that stands for something larger – an idea, a feeling, a theme. An emp… ← Home Guides Write short stories