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Words you need to know when writing (and their meanings) N-P

Here are the next lot for you! N-P

Narrative. This is how you explain the events of your story; a description of a series of events that form the story.

Narrator. The character who tells you what is happening in a story, book or film. (In my opinion, ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak, does this beautifully.)

Noun. Denotes a person, animal, place, thing, event, substance or quality.

Novel. A fiction book with over 40,000 words.

Novella. A fiction book with under 40,000 words.

Outline. Where an author plots out what they want to happen in their book. Can be used as a table of contents. Good for those who like to be organized in their writing. (If you hear the question, are you a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’, this is what it refers to. ‘Pantsers’ sit and write the story without an outline.)

Paperback. A physical copy of a book that has a soft cover rather than a hard cover (see Hardback).

Parody. The writer copies someone or something’s style (generally from a serious piece of work or an event) and deliberately exaggerates it for comedic effect. (The Scream films are an example.)

Passive voice. When the verb focuses on what is being done to the object of the sentence. (He was eaten by the lion.)

Personification. Human traits that are assigned to an animal or inanimate object. Think cat memes…

Pitch. When it all gets serious. This is what you do when you are trying to obtain an agent or editor. For a book, this is typically a query letter with a synopsis.

Plagiarism. Copying and using someone else’s words without permission. Don’t do it.

Plot. Simply put, your plot is your story.

Point of view. (POV) The perspective through which a story unfolds through a particular character’s eyes. Can be first or third person. (‘I felt’ as opposed to ‘Tom felt’.)

Premise. The idea on which you based your story.

Print On Demand (POD). The process of printing books as they are ordered. Used by the majority of indie authors.

Print run. The number of books (or newspapers/magazines) that are printed at one time.

Pronoun. Used instead of a noun or a noun phrase. (He, she, it, who. They refer to a noun that has already been mentioned. Example: The cat (noun) sat on the mat. It (pronoun) stared at me.

Proofreading. Checks spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and related items, but does not check style or structure.

Protagonist. The main character in your story. The reader should identify with them.

Pseudonym. A pen name that an author uses if they do not want to use their real name.

Public domain. Anything in the public domain is not protected by copyright.