A Glossary of terms relating to Creative Writing
U174_1 Glossary
This glossary includes many key terms discussed in this unit that are relevant to the authoring and creative writing process.
Monday, 20 April 2026, 4:11 AM
Site: Open Learning
Course: Start writing fiction (A174_1)
Glossary: A Glossary of terms relating to Creative Writing
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Science fictionWhere an alternative reality is created, usually in outer space, or on another planet, often involving a high degree of scientific or technical data about that ‘other world’. |
SettingThe environment and atmosphere in which characters operate. |
Short storyA length of prose up to approximately 20,000 words in length, most usually of between 1,000 and 5,000 words. |
SimileA comparison usually using ‘like’ or ‘as’, e.g. ‘ The clouds were like cotton wool’. |
StoryA narrative of events arranged in their time-sequence. |
SyntaxThe grammatical structure in sentences. |