Inventing Reality: A Guide to Writing Science Fiction
Glossary
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A
Absent-minded professor
Active voice
Antagonist
As You Know Syndrome
B
Barrier
Being verbs
Book doctor
C
Character
Challenge of the unknown
Chekhov's gun
Cliche
Climax
Commas
Complication
Complications
Conclusion
Conflict
Counterthrust
D
Dark moment
Denouement
Description
Detached autobiography
Dialogue
Diction
Dystopia
E
Easter egg
Elements of fiction
Emotional disturbance
Ending
End marks
Evils of duality
Exposition
Expository lump
F
Falling action
False ending
Fantasy
Fictional dream
Final obstacle
First-person limited
First-person objective
Five senses
Focus character
G
Get-it-in-the-mail syndrome
Gobbets
Grabber
Grouper effect
H
Heinlein's Rules
Hero
Heterotopia
Horror
Hyphens
I
Inciting incident
Info dump
In media res
Invisible words
J
K
L
M
Macguffin
Maid-and-butler dialogue
Main character
Major characters
Manuscript basics
Manuscript editors
Man vs. God(s)
Man vs. himself
Man vs. man
Man vs. nature
Man vs. society
Markets
Metaphor
Minor character
Moral affirmation
Moral compatability
Moral order
N
Narrative drive
Narrative hook
Narrator
Novelettes
Novellas
Novels
Novum
Nulls
O
Opening lines
Organ music
Out-of-whack event
Outopia
P
Pace
Parts of a plot
Passive voice
Past tense
Periods
Place
Planting
Plot
Plot coupons
Point of view
Present tense
Project bible
Protagonist
Q
Quotation marks
R
Reaction shot
Rear-view mirror description
Redshirt
Referents
Repetition
Resolution
Reversal
Reverse gobbet
Rhinoceros in the room
Rising action
Ritual ending
S
Science fiction
Self-indulgent digression
Semi-colons
Sense of wonder
Setting
Short stories
Show
Sight
Smell
Sound
Space opera
Space western
Spell check
Stakes
Stapledon
Stock character
Story clock
Style
Subgenre
Symbolism
T
Taste
Tell
Temporary triumph
Tension
Theme
Thickening
Third-person limited
Third-person omniscient
Thrust
Ticking clock
Tight writing
Time
Titles
Touch
Travel time
U
Usage
Used furniture
Utopia
V
Verb tense
Viewpoint character
Villain
Voice
W
White Room Syndrome
Word counts
X
Y
Z
