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A Non-Writer's Guide to Writerly Terms and Phrases

This post is for all you non-writers out there (or for new writers who are still learning how to speak writer). When I first started getting into the writing community I started hearing all these weird phrases and terms like WIP, plot bunnies, MC and POV and I had to figure out what they all meant.
Now I use these words on a daily basis while talking about my writing and know what they all mean, but for those who are new to this whole writing community thing and have no idea what people are talking about half the time and for friends and family members of writers who need help understanding writer-talk here is a guide just for you! (P.S. thanks to all the writers on the Go Teen Writers Alumni Facebook group for the suggestions! Some of these I wouldn't have thought up on my own without your guys' help!)

  • WIP: Work in progress 
  • Pantser: A writer who writes by the seat of their pants. Usually just jumps right into a new WIP (see above) without any plan or outline and goes for it. Can be disorganized and often has very messy first drafts. 
  • Plotter: The more organized writers who plot out their books before they write them. Some spend hours, weeks, months, even years, plotting and planning their books before they even start writing them while others create a lose outline of the plot to follow. 
  • MC: Main character (also known as the protagonist 
  • FMC: Female Main Character 
  • MMC: Male Main Character
  • LI: Love Interest (I found this one recently on Twitter and it took me a minute to piece together what it means)
  • Antagonist: The villain, Big Bad, bad guy
  • Archetypes: Typical characters that represent a certain characteristic or personality. A few archetype characters would be: The Mentor (Ben from Star Wars, Brom from Eragon), Caretaker (Marlin from Finding Nemo, Mary Poppins), Anti-hero (ie my favorite archetype. Wolverine, Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Venom, Deadpool, Damon from TVD). 
  • Two dimensional and three dimensional characters. Some use round or flat, dynamic or static. I use the terms two dimensional and third dimensional. Two dimension characters are flat or static. They don't have any real personality, motivations or goals. They're just sort of there... Three dimensional characters are round, dynamic. They're real, have their own personalities, wants and dreams, fears and goals and motives. 
  • Character Arc: The transformation or inner journey of a character (usually the protagonist) throughout the story. 
  • Character Driven: A story that is heavy in character development, is written around a character's journey. A character driven story is one where the character makes the plot happen through their decisions (either good or bad). (Narnia, The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King). 
  • Plot Driven: Sort of the opposite of character driven. There are still obviously characters but these stories are more driven by events than character decisions. (Think Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit. Star Wars episode IV, Twilight)
  • Nanowrimo: National November Writing Month. In November (obviously) when a whole bunch of writers all over the world come together to write 50,000 words by the end of the month. There's also Camp Nanowrimo which is in April. 
  • Beta Readers: Readers who read your story and point out errors and suggest improvements and their feedback before publication. 
  • Literary Agents: A person (agent) who acts on behalf of an author to get them publishing deals and helps handle other matters of publication and promotion. 
  • Plot bunnies: An idea that springs to mind all of a sudden and will not go away until it is written (usually while you are in the middle of writing a different WIP). 
  • Drafts: Different versions (or exploratory versions) of a WIP. Usually starts with a rough or first draft and ends with the polished and ready for publication final draft. 
  • Query: A letter sent out to a literary agent with the synopsis of your book, a little about yourself and requesting representation from them. 
  • POV: Point of View
  • Synopsis: A summary of what your book is about 
  • Blurb: Usually found on the back or inner flap of a book. A short summary of what the book is about 
I hope this has been enlightening and helpful to all of you who have no idea how to speak writer. Fellow writers, if I've missed any others feel free to put them down in the comments! :) 

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