#writingterms

[glitchpalantir]

GAME WRITER vocabulary

Antagonist

The character that opposes the main character. In games, this character is the main boss.

Anti-Hero

An anti-hero is a protagonist who doesn't contain the typical heroic qualities that we have come to expect from narrative leads, but we are still asked to sympathize with. Kratos from God of War is an anti-hero. So is Joel from The Last of Us. 

Caricature

A caricature is a broad or very stereotypical character, verging on a send-up. They are not "believable". 

Character Arc

In a story, most protagonists undergo some kind of transformation or change. This is usually referred to as their ‘arc’ or ‘journey’.

Fatal flaw

In classic literature, a fatal flaw is an imperfection, issue or prejudice that can potentially lead to the character's downfall. In games, the flaw is usually an issue that the character has to work through over the course of the experience, like Kratos taking responsibility for his past in 2018's God of War. It is usually tied to the arc of a character.

Flat characters

A two-dimensional or flimsy character; someone that feels lifeless or has no depth

Goals

What is the character pursuing? What do they need to achieve? The character goal can be a conscious thing ("I need to find the treasure") or it can be subconscious ("I need to find closure with my ex"). Either way, the character pursuing that goal drives the story forward. In more complex narratives, a character might have an external or conscious goal as well as an interior or subconscious goal, and often those two things will be at odds. 

Inner conflict

An inner conflict is a psychological battle that a person is waging with themselves. For example, in The Last of Us, the character of Joel struggles with his affection for Ellie versus his desire to end the Infection.

Narrator (and Unreliable Narrator)

The narrator is the person who tells the story, often via voiceover. Sometimes that character is the protagonist, but not always. Most games don't have narration, but there are a few who have employed the device, such as Dragon Age 2 and The Stanley Parable. 

NPC

Non-player character. Typically, any character who appears in the game who is not the player

character. 

Objectives

In games, the goal is usually broken into smaller objectives that the player pursues. Sometimes an objective is a physical location ("reach the castle"�) and sometimes it is a task ("defeat the dragon") 

Player Character

The character the player embodies, who is virtually always the protagonist of the story. Typically, a game will only have one player character, although games like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Broken Age feature multiple player characters.

Protagonist

In story terms, the protagonist is the principal character in the story and the one who usually drives the action. In games, the player character is usually the protagonist.

Stakes

What happens if the player doesn't achieve their goal? What is at threat if they fail in their task. Stakes can tangible (mankind is wiped out) or intangible (I am humiliated).

Trope (or archetype)

A trope is a familiar storytelling device. It is often used pejoratively. For example, the "damsel in distress" is a trope. So is "deus ex machina". 

[cartersvilleareawriters]

CAW Term of the Week - Writers Conference

#CAW #CartersvilleAreaWriters #CartersvilleAreaWritersGroup #WritingConference #CAWTotW #CAWTermoftheWeek #WritingConference #Writers #Authors #WritingCommunity #WritersofTumblr #WritingTips #WritingTerms #WritersLife #WritingGroups

[chaikovskiyy]

Writings Terms to Know

Is this going to be an organized index? Yes. Will it help new writers sink in to the community? Yes! Will it be fun for writers with experience to try and see if they now know all them? Also yes. So let’s get started!

Planning / Outline Terms - Plotter: A writer who outlines their projects - Panster: A writer who doesn’t outline and therefore “writes by the seat of their pants” - Story Beat: An important event or turning point in the story. (there are tons more vocab within this- resources are available all over the internet!)

Drafting Terms - WIP: Work in progress / writing in progress - Writer’s block: When a writer is having a hard time coming up with ideas or putting words onto the page. A lot of us struggle with this! - First Draft: The finished version of a project with no edits - Zero Draft: A process some writers use to get through that first version of their story and keep momentum. Often under-written, with missing scenes, lots of placeholders, etc.

Revision / Editing Terms - Alpha Reader: A person the writer taps to read their first draft - Beta Reader: A person the writer taps to read whatever draft (not their first) that the writer is on to help - Critique Partner: Another writer who a writer exchanges their work with. They provide each other with critiques/comments on their drafts - Developmental Edits: Revisions made to the story’s big elements like plot, character, setting, etc. - Line Edits: Edits to fix the prose - Copy Edits: Edits to fix grammatical/spelling errors

Prose Terms - Purple Prose: Prose that is so convoluted that the meaning of the writer's words is lost. - Literary device: Anything used in the prose like a simile, metaphor, imagery, allegory, etc. - Show don’t tell: The mega tip that you should show and dramatize what your characters act like, how places look, etc. instead of just saying so in the prose.

Miscellaneous Terms used by the Community - OC: Original character - CR: Currently reading - Self-promo: Advertising your account/work on someone else’s account/profile/post. A big no in the community - Wattpad/Commaful/FictionPress: Places on the internet where writers can share/post their work to be read for free!

That’s all for this post! Until next time, happy writing! - E. ⚘

Find me on Instagram @chaikovskiyy

[ashleyearley]

Here are a list of writing terms you should know! • POV: point of view. • WC: word count. • WIP: work in progress. • PSC: please send coffee. • MC: main character. • SC: side character. • Plotter: a writer who outlines their novel from beginning to end. • Pantser: a writer who writes by the seat of her pants. • Plantser: a writer who both outlines and writes by the seat of their pants to some degree. • Protagonist: usually the main character or hero character. • Antagonist: the “bad guy” or villain. Did we miss any writing terms? Comment below! 🤎 • • #writingterms #writingterminology #authorsofinstagram #authorcommunity #authorsofig #authorlife #authors #author #lineedit #lineeditor #lineediting #writingcommunity #writings #writing #writerwarnings #writingtips✏️ #writingtips101 #writingtipsandtricks #writingtip #writingtips #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writersnetwork #writersblock #writersofig #writerslife #writers #writer #protagonist #antagonist https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg4IT3GvP-f/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[carriejonesbooks]

Literary Terms? Who Wants them? Who Needs them?

Literary Terms? Who Wants them? Who Needs them?

As you may remember last week we began Carrie’s Anti-Craft Book of Literary Terms, which is also called:

GLOSSARY OF IMPORTANT LITERARY TERMS, WHICH I WOULD (MAYBE) FIND IN A CRAFT BOOK IF I COULD BRING MYSELF TO READ ONE AGAIN, WHICH I CAN NOT, SO NO TRYING TO FORCE ME! I AM NO LONGER IN A MFA PROGRAM, SO JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW. IT’S MY OWN LIFE DAMNIT:

Today we start with the Letter L.