THE ABC'S OF READING & 'RITING: LETTER D

 

It's been five long years since I've become a professional writer and there are times I feel like I have just started on day one of this long journey to becoming a "master" of my craft.

I've read, I've studied, I've written every day and there are basics of my writing skills that I feel I've conquered and now I'm ready to take it to the next level.

But then I come across words from the literary world like these listed below and I begin to wonder if there are enough years left in MY lifetime to learn everything there is to learn about reading, writing, and publishing.  I knew what some of these words actually meant but not all of them.  

How about you? Whether reading for enjoyment or writing as a career choice, everyone should have a working knowledge of these words to help enrich their reading/writing experience:

Denouement: The final outcome of the main complication of a story or play. It usually occurs after the climax and reveals all the secrets and misunderstandings connected to the plot. (Most people don't like to be left hanging at the end of a story unless it's part of an ongoing series)

Determinism/deterministic: the quality of a narrative or character that leads only to a single conclusion. We know, for example, that certain characters are doomed to fail, whatever they do. (Just like poor ol' Charlie Brown from the Peanuts cartoon.)

Dialogue: The words spoken by the characters of a story. (Not just a way for information dumping but a genuine exchange/interaction between characters)

Diction: A writer’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures, and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning. (Also helps create the author’s “voice”.)

Didactic: A work "designed to impart information, advice, or some doctrine of morality or philosophy." (Something most publishers do NOT want to see in their picture book manuscripts.)

Draft: A completed version of a writing which may be rewritten, revised, or polished. (Usually the first of MANY drafts from original to final manuscript)

Dystopia: A fictional world so oppressive that it might be a nightmare for someone from our society. Examples of dystopian fiction would be Orwell's 1984. Some post-apocalyptic worlds are dystopias, but the usual feature of most dystopian fiction and film is that some type of society, however awful, still exists. (Never really knew what THIS one meant until just now...;~)

You see, you don't have to be a writer to have a better understanding of what it is you are reading. But understanding what you are reading will DEFINITELY make you a better writer!

What do you think? Let me know in the comments...

Blurb:Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

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