Creative Writing Vocabulary Terms – Flashcards
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Imagery
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The formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things Ex: It was dark and dim in the forest.
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Irony
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The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite Ex: Technology is freeing us from technology.
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Voice
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The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or narator Ex: Harry ate six shrimp at dinner.
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Allusion
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A reference to a historical or literary person, event, or place, used to heighten the significance of a poetic image or a prose passage. Ex: "I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio's."
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Rhythm
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Movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like Ex: Because I could not stop for Death,
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Rhyme
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Correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry Ex: Pat has a cat.
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Alliteration
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The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words Ex: Alice's aunt ate apples and acorns around August.
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Onomatopoeia
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The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named Ex: Sizzle
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Parallelism
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The use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc. Ex: What you see is what you get.
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Themes
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A story is its underlining message, or 'big idea'. Ex: Injustice
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Tone
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The perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regards to a specific character, place or development. Ex: "Catholics are always trying to find out if you're Catholic."
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Figurative Language
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Language that contains or uses figures of speech, especially metaphors. Ex: Alright, the sky misses the sun at night.
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Simile
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A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid. Ex: As brave as a lion, crazy like a fox.
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Metaphor
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A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. Ex: A mighty fortress is our God.
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Hyperbole
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Obvious and intentional exaggeration. Ex: To wait an eternity.
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Symbol
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Something used for or regarded as representing something else Ex: Coin, token.
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Flashback
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a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story. Ex: She had a dream about her performance last year when she fell in front of everyone
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Foreshadowing
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to show or indicate beforehand Ex: "Life were better ended by their hate, Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love"
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Analogy
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a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based Ex: She was quiet as a mouse.
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Assonance
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resemblance of sounds Ex: "Hear the mellow wedding bells"
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Mood
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a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude Ex: mad, sad, happy, aggravated
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Poetry
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the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts Ex: Roses are red, violets are blue. I hate poems even more than I hate you.
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Dialog
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conversation between two or more persons Ex: Annina: Monsieur Rick, what kind of a man is Captain Renault? Rick: Oh, he's just like any other man, only more so.
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Antagonist/Protagonist
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the adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work/the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work Ex: Darth Vador vs Luke
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Characterization
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portrayal; description of character Ex: Joe was motivated by money. He had no use for love or family.
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Moral
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of, relating to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical Ex: Tell the truth, Do not gossip
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Satire
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the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc Ex: The movie "Scary Movie"
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Climax
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the highest or most intense point in the development or resolution of something; culmination Ex: A little girl has been looking for her lost dog. She hears a bark coming from around the corner, and she looks around to see . . .
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Myth
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a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature Ex: Myth of Zeus
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Connotation/Denotation
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the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning/the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it Ex: Childlike/! - exclamation point
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Narrator
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a person who gives an account or tells the story of events, experiences Ex: Holden Caulfield, the narrator and main character in The Catcher in the Rye
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Paradox
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a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth Ex: You can save money by spending it.
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Dialect
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a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, especially when considered as substandard Ex: Cantonese to the Chinese language
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Diction
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style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words Ex: When you have a posh and formal way of speaking
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Free Verse
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verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern Ex: The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.
