I'm sure each of us sooner or later comes across all these words when we start writing stories. Here are all the necessary terms you need to know as a story creator + some curious ones that will help you make sense of the writing process ❤️
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Antihero -- a main character who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality. These individuals often possess dark personality traits such as disagreeableness, dishonesty, and aggressiveness.
MC -- Main Character. The lead of the story.
Sidekick -- sidekicks, by definition, are almost always with the main character, which allows the conflict to be ongoing. A person who helps and spends a lot of time with someone who is usually more important, powerful, etc.
Protagonist -- the character whom the story is about and who is most directly affected by the antagonist.
This character may be the narrator/POV character (such as Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen), or the protagonist may be a character who is viewed by someone else (as Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, who tells us about the protagonist Jay Gatsby)
Antagonist -- a person (or force) standing in opposition to the protagonist.
Deuteragonist -- a secondary protagonist and the driver of a subplot. Can be a sidekick.
Love Interest -- a principle secondary character for whom the protagonist has romantic interest (and/or the romantic subplot itself).
Impact Character -- a character who is a strong catalyst for change in the protagonist, causing inner conflict and helping put the plot into motion.
Archetype -- a "type" of character, which is commonly repeated across literature. Examples: The Mentor, the Magician, etc.
MARY SUE (female), MARTY-STU (male) -- a term for a character who is able to do everything, with unrealistic abilities.
Character Arc -- the personal/inner transformation the protagonist undergoes over the course of the story.
Usually, the character learns something through the main conflict in order to become a better person by the story's end.
Unreliable Narrator -- the narrator's unreliability might be obvious to the reader throughout, it might be revealed gradually, or it might come as a revelation that provides a major plot twist.
Common examples are Vladimir Nabakov's Humbert Humbert from Lolita and Alex from A Clockwork Orange. An Unreliable Narrator might mislead the reader on purpose, or simply misinterpret the events of the story 'by mistake'.
Omniscient Narrator -- an "all-knowing" narrator (sometimes the author, sometimes the fictional protagonist), who tells the reader things, which the characters have no way of learning.
POV -- point of view.
First Person -- point of view in which readers "see" through the eyes of the main character. It uses pronouns such as "I" and "me."
Third Person -- point of view in which the narrator exists outside the events of the story, describing the actions of the characters, and referring to their names or by the third-person pronouns he, she, or they.
Third-person narration can be: omniscient, limited (when the protagonist is not the MC, and objective (aka unreliable narrator).
MS -- "Manuscript." A yet unpublished work, whether written or typed.
WIP -- work-in-progress. The story or novel the author is currently writing.
Zero Draft -- the "vomit" draft, part of pre-writing. The writer "vomits" up whatever story ideas they have without concern as to structure, consistency, or sense. Used to a) explore world/worldbuild, b) explore/develop characters/character interactions c) develop and/or test plot elements d) anything the author wants.
Beat -- an important event or turning point within a story. An important scene.
Pacing -- the rate at which a story progresses and events unfold.
Plot -- the main thread of the story.
Subplot -- a secondary thread of the story, with its own beginning, middle, and end, the subplot may or may not be directly connected to the main plot, and generally involves supporting characters.
Plotter -- a writer who prefers to write a book after going through an outlining process. (I'm a plotter! Are you?)
World Building -- The act of designing a story world, including its culture, language, technology, magic, biology, landscape, history, etc. This can be done through setting descriptions, exposition, dialogue, or character actions and interactions.
Trope -- a story element or plot device that is particular to certain genres or stories, to the point they become a storytelling cliche.
Examples include love triangles, or the "chosen one".
Red Herring -- a false clue meant to mislead the reader. It creates a false trail for the reader to follow. A red herring can be an object, a character, part of the setting, etc.
Exposition (usually including the Inciting Event) -- the part of the story where background information about characters, events, setting, etc., is provided. Usually told in the beginning of the story, the prologue, to help the reader 'dive' into the story.
Key Event -- what 'sucks' your protagonist into that plot. Even if you have a great big Inciting Event (like, say, the beginning of a war), it can't affect your character until the Key Event drags him into the mess (as would happen if he were drafted into the Army).
Turning Point -- a major moment in the story when the plot "turns" by changing in a dramatic way, almost always as the result of a "reveal" or twist that presents the characters with new information about the conflict.
Foreshadowing -- involves planting hints early on in a book to prepare readers for important revelations and events that occur later in the story.
Cliffhanger -- the ending of a chapter or book in a moment of high suspense and tension, used to compel readers.
Climactic Moment -- the moment in the Climax where the overall goal is reached or not reached. This is the moment when the protagonist defeats the antagonist or visa versa.
Climax -- the finale of the story, featuring the final and decisive confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonistic force, determining whether or not the protagonist will succeed or fail in gaining the main plot goal.
Blurb -- a short summary of what the book is about, meant to hook the reader.
Logline -- a single sentence story summary, specifically used to pitch.
Synopsis -- a detailed description of your story's complete plot (including spoilers and the ending), written in either one or three pages, for the purpose of sharing with a literary agent.
Standalone Book -- either a book that is not part of a series, or a book that is part of a series but does not depend on the other books in the series to make sense. Used most often in the former sense to indicate a book that has no sequels.
Writer's Block -- a state in which the writer doesn't know how to proceed with writing (I hate those! Do you?)