Glossary

4 October 2026 · 3 min read

The antagonist is the character, group or force that opposes the protagonist and stands in the way of their goal, creating the conflict that drives the story.

12 October 2026 · 3 min read

An anti-hero is a protagonist who is notably lacking in traditional heroic qualities such as courage, idealism or moral purity.

11 October 2026 · 3 min read

An archetype is a recurring pattern of character, image or situation that appears across stories and cultures, such as the mentor or the trickster, and that readers recognise at once.

11 October 2026 · 3 min read

A character arc is the transformation or inner journey a character goes through over the course of a story, as they begin as one kind of person and change, or refuse to change, in response to events.

5 October 2026 · 3 min read

The deuteragonist is the second most important character in a narrative, after the protagonist, often a companion, ally or foil to the lead.

4 October 2026 · 3 min read

First-person point of view tells a story through a narrator who uses "I" and takes part in the events, so readers see only what that person knows, notices and chooses to share.

5 October 2026 · 3 min read

A foil is a character who contrasts with another, usually the protagonist, so that the other character's traits, choices or flaws stand out more sharply.

4 October 2026 · 3 min read

A frame story is an outer narrative that holds one or more other stories inside it, usually with its own narrator, setting and ending, within which the main tales are told.

12 October 2026 · 3 min read

The hero's journey is a story pattern in which a hero leaves the ordinary world, meets a decisive trial in an unfamiliar one and returns changed, a pattern described by Joseph Campbell.

6 October 2026 · 3 min read

In medias res is Latin for in the middle of things: a story that opens inside an action or crisis already underway, with earlier events filled in afterward.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

The inciting incident is the event, usually early in a story, that disrupts the protagonist's ordinary situation and sets the main plot in motion by forcing a response.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

A MacGuffin is an object, event or character that sets the plot in motion and keeps characters chasing it, even though it matters little in itself and could be swapped for something else.

9 October 2026 · 3 min read

Narrative voice is the manner in which a story is told, shaped by who the narrator is, the point of view they use and how they speak.

8 October 2026 · 3 min read

An omniscient narrator is a storyteller outside the action who knows everything about the world and the characters, including their thoughts and feelings, and can tell readers anything at any time.

8 October 2026 · 3 min read

Point of view is the vantage point from which a story is presented: where the narrator stands, how much that narrator can see and know, and whose mind the reader enters.

4 October 2026 · 3 min read

The protagonist is the principal character of a story, the person whose goals, choices and struggles drive the plot and whose fate the reader follows most closely.

9 October 2026 · 3 min read

Second-person point of view tells the story directly to you: the narrator addresses the reader or a character as you, so the audience stands inside the main character's actions.

7 October 2026 · 3 min read

"Show, don't tell" is a writing guideline that asks you to let readers experience a story through action, dialogue, senses and detail, instead of being handed the author's summary or conclusions.

3 October 2026 · 3 min read

A story beat is a single meaningful moment of action, decision or emotional change that moves a story forward; in outlining, the beats are the key turning points listed in a beat sheet.

1 min read

The reference a series keeps about itself.

8 October 2026 · 3 min read

Third-person limited is a point of view that uses he, she or they but stays inside one character's perspective at a time, so readers know only what that character senses, thinks and learns.

4 October 2026 · 3 min read

An unreliable narrator is a storyteller whose account the reader cannot fully trust, because of lies, bias, limited knowledge or a distorted view of events, so the reader must read between the lines.

8 October 2026 · 3 min read

Worldbuilding is the creation of a fictional world, with its places, history, cultures and rules, that feels believable and consistent within the story.