Literary Terminology

Stream of consciousness is writing or saying everything that comes into your head in a continuous stream. Some novels have sections or are written wholly in a stream of consciousness, for example, "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf.

Direct characterization is when the reader is told about how the character is outright in the text. Indirect characterization is when the reader is told of the characters actions, words or thoughts and is left to devise how the character is instead.

Direct characterization tells, whereas indirect characterization shows.

The topic sentence, the body with supporting sentences, and the clincher sentence

It means exactly what it says...to write about what you know. If you know about something than you'll have more to say and have an opinion. If you don't know about a subject...there's less to say.

An Omniscient narrator can tell the story from the viewpoint of any character, and tell the reader their thoughts and emotions. A Limited narrator only tells us the thoughts and emotions of one character, and can only say what the character thinks other characters are thinking.

Katia was going to teach them a lesson they'd never forget.

No way, she thought, this is ridiculous.

There once lived a miserly, miserable old man.

The distance readers sense between themselves and the events of the story

A liar

A child

A character who seems naïve may have a moment of sudden insight.

A reader may not connect with a character who seems dishonest.

Brainstorm, draft, revise, polish

To help a reader imagine a physical experience

Narration that tries to imitate the patterns of real thought.

The writer should ask himself, "How much should the narrator know about the story?".

A larger psychic distance usually creates a less inimate tone.

A closer psychic distance can create a more intimate tone.

a man stands alone, in costume, on an empty stage

The writer wants to write from one characters perspective only. Apex

noticing and writing about what you perceive with your senses

A character who shows different sides

How formal does the writing seem

The sound of cows kicking the barn door

The writer wants the narrator to observe things the character might not.

Narration that moves freely from location to location or character to location.

The writer wants you to realize that the narrator is unreliable, and to take everything they've said with a grain of salt.

a narrator who doees not view similarly like others

Narration That Can enter the thoughts and feelings of any Character