A Glossary of Essential Literary Terms for Fiction Writers

If you enjoy writing or reading fiction, it is good to know the following

Many of us love to settle into an easy chair, open a book from one of our favorite authors and immerse ourselves into the wonderful world of fiction. We typically allow the author to take us on a journey of discovery, fantasy and dreams; excursions of mental flight we often remember for the rest of our lives. We especially love when the words of a good fiction seem to magically transform themselves into mental images just as if we were watching a movie on an old fashion silver screen.

In many cases, we do not want to know what concoction of word and imagery alchemy the author has constructed. Instead, we want to be led into that world of make-belief living within the pages of the story we are reading. Soon, we find ourselves not only captivated by the story, but somehow part of it. When this happens, the author’s magic has worked.

However, whether we know it or not, good authors use many literary devices and concepts — tricks of the trade, if you will — in order to create indelible images in our minds. Images, we often replay time and again.

This article does not pretend to instruct the readers how to write fiction. I will leave that to those…