| A | B |
|---|
| fiction | writing that tells an imaginary story |
| suspense | a feeling of growing tension and excitement |
| conflict | a struggle between opposing forces |
| antagonist | a force working against the protagonist or main character |
| protagonist | the central character or hero in a narrative or drama |
| exposition | sets the tone, establishes the setting, introduces the characters, and gives the reader important background information |
| initiating event | the incident that introduces the central conflict in a story |
| rising action | refers to the events in a story that move the plot forward and build toward a climax |
| falling action | the part of the story that occurs after the climax |
| climax | the turning point or the point of highest excitement in a narrative |
| character | a person, animal, or imaginary creature in a literary work |
| characterization | all the techniques writers use to create characters |
| character development | the growing or changing of a character during a story |
| dynamic character | a character that changes |
| static character | a character that undergoes little or no change |
| dialogue | the words that the characters speak |
| flashback | an interruption of the action to present events that took place at an earlier time |
| foreshadowing | hints about what will happen in the future |
| inference | a logical guess about the story based on evidence |
| irony | a contrast between what is expected and what actually happens |
| main idea | the most important point that a writer wishes to express |
| mood | the atmosphere or feeling that a story has |
| motivation | the reason why a character acts, feels or thinks a certain way |
| narrative | writing that tells a story |
| narrator | the teller of the story |
| plot | sequence of related events that make up a story |
| point of view | the perspective from which the story is told |
| predicting | using what you know to predict what might happen |
| setting | the time and place of the action in a story, poem or play |
| short story | a brief work of fiction that can usually be read in one sitting |
| sensory details | words and phrases that help the reader see, hear, taste, feel or smell what an author is describing |
| style | a manner of writing |
| subject | the focus or topic of a literary work |
| subplot | an additional, minor plot that involves a secondary conflict in a story |
| summarizing | the process of briefly recounting the main ideas of a piece of writing in one's own words |
| theme | the meaning, moral, message or lesson about life that a story conveys |
| tone | expresses the writer's attitude about his or her subject |
| voice | an author's distinctive style or manner of expression |
