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A Glossary of terms relating to Creative Writing

Shakespeare U174_1 Glossary

This glossary includes many key terms discussed in this unit that are relevant to the authoring and creative writing process.

Saturday, 7 December 2024, 5:44 AM
Site: Open Learning
Course: Start writing fiction (A174_1)
Glossary: A Glossary of terms relating to Creative Writing
G

Gay fiction

Where the main protagonists are gay, and usually, but not always, aimed at a gay readership.

Genre

A literary or artistic type or style, e.g. thriller or romance.

Gothic

Style popular in 18th and 19th century novels, involving supernatural or horrifying events.

Grammar

Established rules and conventions for using language.
H

Historical

Where the action takes place usually at least an entire lifetime ago, often but not always related in the vernacular of the particular period being evoked.

Humour

Fiction of any kind where the mood is, before everything, intended to be humorous, although it might also be said to be ‘dark’ or ‘black’ or ‘biting’, where the ‘joke’ of the fiction is something more than merely funny.
I

In medias res

Literally, ‘in the middle of things’. A story that begins ‘in the middle of the action’, without any form of introductory passage.

Interior monologue

The direct, unmediated thought processes of a particular character.
L

Legal thriller

Where the drama involves action perceived in relation to the law, usually involving specific legal details, and closely allied to the ‘courtroom drama’ genre, where most of the action revolves around scenes unfolding in a courtroom.
M

Magic realism

Aims to convey events in a realistic manner, yet also involving a degree of ‘surreal’ occurrences, or scenes where the laws of ‘everyday reality’ do not apply.