Come here if you don't know what a certain word is or what it means.

Sub-boards: Naruto Terms, Writing Terms 1, Writing Terms 2, Artist Terms 1, Artist Terms 2, Terms R-T, Terms U-Y

Here are some tips to help with the beginning, middle, and ending of your stories or poems or art pieces.

Moderator: SORAbear

Hurm. This is where you can request a specific kind of background. You choose a few images and text color & board and category and background colors.

Moderator: SORAbear

Here, you can pretty much write your own stories with no relation to the animes or original stories on this site. They can include anything so long as they don't trickle into the Main area. This is an area specifically for your fanfics to show off and stuff.

Moderator: SORAbear

This is where accepted characters go.

Moderator: SORAbear

Here you fill out and submit the role-play form with your characters' information and wait until validated (around 24 hours).

Moderator: SORAbear

Named after H.P. Lovecraft, it is often psychological work that is based on the premise that the world was once ruled by a dark and supernatural race that is waiting for the opportunity to reclaim power.  Misanthropy, a fragile sense of reality, and an antiquated use of terminology is often associated with the style. Many writers have developed works within this genre including Stephen King and Caitlin R. Kiernan.

Moderator: SORAbear

Anything outside of the typical, physical world fall under this category including ghosts, werewolves, zombies, vampires, etc. Many sub categories have emerged under this group and it often overlaps with several other categories of horror and other genres. Dracula and Arabian Nights are often cited works in this category.

Moderator: SORAbear

Combines both horror and fantasy elements. It is often used to describe works that can also be labeled as paranormal since they both deal with forces or creatures that lie outside of humanity’s understanding of reality. Most comic books fall in this category such as Batman and The Crow, as do works from Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman, and other fantasy writers.

Moderator: SORAbear

Here is where the blatant gore and gruesome elements of horror come to play. There is nothing suggestive or hidden in this genre. Authors in this field take the “don’t look away” approach and reveal every horrific element to the reader in often sickening detail. Clive Barker and Jack Ketchum are famous for this type of writing.

Moderator: SORAbear

Time travel was popularized by H.G. Wells with The Time Machine (1888), though Edward Page Mitchell wrote "The Clock that Went Backwards" seven years before that. Characters travel to the past or future, or are visited by travelers from either end of the spectrum. Topics range from "Let's go see what the Pleistocene looked like," to issues of paradox (what if you traveled to the past and killed your own grandfather?) and "tampering" (could stepping on a butterfly in the Paleolithic profoundly alter the entire future?). A variant of this subgenre is the "alternate universes" theme, in which each change in the timestream spins off a new universe.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Space opera, like Western "horse operas," often involves good guys "shooting it up" with bad guys (who may be aliens, robots, or other humans) in the depths of space or on a distant planet. Space operas (of which Star Wars is a classic example) don't worry about scientific implausibilities; technical explanations tend to be vague ("You see, Bob, if you fold space just so...").

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Soft/sociological science fiction is character-driven, with emphasis on social change, personal psychology and interactions, etc. While technology may play a role, the emphasis is not so much on how that technology works, but how it affects individuals or social groups. Robert Silverberg's short story "To See the Invisible Man," for example, focuses on how a futuristic form of punishment affects the individual and the surrounding society. Ursula K. LeGuin is a noted author of sociological science fiction. (For more information, see How to Write Soft SF, by Penny Ehrenkranz.)

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Slipstream deals with "mainstream" themes but contains a speculative element. Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is set in a speculative future, for example, but is marketed as a mainstream novel.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Science fantasy/future fantasy, rare now but popular in the 1930's and 1940's, alters, breaks, or ignores known laws or scientific theories for the sake of the story. Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels (set on Mars) are a good example.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Near-future science fiction takes place in the present day or in the next few decades. Elements of the setting should be familiar to the reader, and the technology may be current or in development. Stories about nanotechnology or genetics, such as Greg Bear's Blood Music, often fall into this category.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Military science fiction looks at combat in future locations (space, another planet), against a range of opponents (modified humans, aliens, machines), with futuristic, high-tech weaponry (including genetically modified soldiers). While some military science fiction asks "how fast can we blast the bugs?" (Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers), many authors use this subgenre to address anti-war themes. David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series explores both the heroism and the carnage of warfare.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Light/humorous science fiction may occur within any of these subgenres, or (often) spoof a subgenre. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of the best-known examples of humorous science fiction.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Hard science fiction is driven more by ideas than characterization. Plausible science and technology are central to the plot. If your story is set on a lunar colony, for example, issues of technology may be of greater concern than a character's personal life. To write effectively in this subgenre, an author must generally have a good grasp of the scientific principles involved. Much classic science fiction, including the earlier works of Asimov and Heinlein, fall into this category.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

First contact explores the initial meeting between humans and aliens, ranging from horrific tales of invasions to stories of benign visitors bearing the secrets of advanced technologies and world peace (or irony, as in The Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" -- the one that ended, "It's a cookbook!"). The meeting may occur on Earth, in space, or on another planet. H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds helped define the "alien invasion" variant of this subgenre.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Cross-genre stories defy easy distinctions between science fiction and other genres, such as fantasy ("if it's psychic power, it's science fiction; if it's magic, it's fantasy"). Christopher Stasheff's Warlock in Spite of Himself series, for example, places a space-traveling agent on a planet apparently populated by witches, werewolves, and other fantasy beings. Such novels may also blend science fiction and romance, mystery, suspense, and even Westerns (as in the Brisco County television series).

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Action-adventure fiction, traditionally (but not exclusively) aimed at male readers, features physical action and violence, often around a quest or military-style mission set in exotic or forbidding locales such as jungles, deserts, or mountains.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

This genre includes any type of novel with a protagonist in the 12 to 16 age range that speaks to the concerns of teenagers. Currently, J.K. Rowling and her amazing Harry Potter (Scholastic Press) books are dominating the field. Rowling's accomplishment — a truly universal story, brimming with magic and fantasy as well as likable characters that readers identify with — is an amazing feat. Watch out for all the Harry Potter wannabes in the coming year.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Mystery is a popular genre, boasting a huge established audience. All mysteries focus on a crime, usually murder. The action tends to center on the attempts of a wily detective-type to solve the crime. And the climax usually occurs near the end, in a leisurely setting where all the elements of the mystery are neatly assembled for the reader's convenience. The solution, complete with surprises, is then delivered to the characters and the reader alike.

Mystery subgenres include spy, detective, and crime stories. You can find a vast network of mystery writers associations, conventions, and conferences, as well as publications to help mystery writers pursue their craft.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Ghost Fantasy are fantasies in which a ghost takes active involvement in the story. The most classic example in this subgenre is "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Mythopoeic Fantasy involves good and evil locked in a struggle that is waged with supernatural powers. It deals with events that, however important they seem to the participants, are but a skirmish in the eternal conflict. These books usually take place in a modern setting into which intrude Arthurian characters or relics such as the sword Excalibur. These fantasies lead their protagonist on a journey of self-discovery that brings pain as well as joy. Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Once and Future King by T.H. White and many others.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Heroic Fantasy (Sword and Sorcery) deals with a totally invincible hero or one that fights as a mercenary. The hero is proficient with a weapon and has no special abilities except strength and courage. The plot is purely entertainment with no major themes. Books most familiar in this area are the "Conan" books by Robert Howard, "Eternal Champion" books by Michael Moorcock and "Fafhrd and Gray Mouser" books by Fritz Leiber.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

All-Ages High Fantasy are fantasy books written for both adults and children. They contain many levels of meaning. Books in this area include "The Prydain Chronicles" by Lloyd Alexander, "The Dark Is Rising" sequence by Susan Cooper and Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Science Fantasy offers a scientific explanation for other world and treats magic as a science. Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber, The Dying Earth by Jack Vance and the space trilogy by C.S. Lewis come under this heading.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Gothic fantasy explains strange (weird) events. It has the gothic elements of human fascination and fear of unknown, suspense and tension, mysterious settings and twisted plots. The "Gormenghast" books by Mervyn Peake are a classic example of this type.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Mythic fantasy has a supernatural causality and usually involves mythology. These books involve retellings, modern adaptations and new inventions. Good expamples of this type are Mythago Wood, Lavondyss, The Hollowing and Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn by Robert Holdstock.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Fairytale fantasy are books or stories based on fairytales that involve a magical causality. Examples in this subgenre include Beauty by Robin McKinley and The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Historical Fantasy use a historical period or event that involves magic or other fantasy elements, which takes place in our world in the past. Some well-done books in this subgenre are: Lord of the Two Lands by Judith Tarr and The White Raven by Diana Paxson.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

An Analogy is a likeness or similarity between things (a subject and an analog) that are otherwise unlike. Analogy is the comparison of two pairs which have the same relationship.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Blank Verse is Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. William Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Canzone Poetry Type is usually a medieval Italian lyric poem, with five or six stanzas and a shorter concluding stanza (or envoy). Canzone literally means "song" in Italian. The poet Patriarch was a master of the canzone. Petrarch or Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) was an Italian poet and humanist, one of the great figures of Italian literature.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Classicism Types of poetry contain the principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature. Classicism concerns itself with form and discipline as opposed to emotional impact as in Romanticism. Examples of classicism in poetry can be found in the works of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which are characterized by their formality, simplicity, and emotional restraint.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

The Dactyl Poetry Term is a metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in 'happily'. The dactyl is the reverse of the Anapaest. An example of the dactyl from "The Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson is:

Half a League, Half a League, Half a League, onward

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

The word Enjambment comes from the French word for "to straddle". Enjambment is the
continuation of a sentence form one line or couplet into the next. An example by Joyce Kilmer 1886–1918 in his poem "Trees" is:

I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Epic Poems are long, serious poems that tells the story of a heroic figure. Some of the most famous epic poems are the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer and the epic poem
of The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ( 1807 - 1882 ) .

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

An epitaph is a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument written in praise, or reflecting the life, of a deceased person.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Haiku is a Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku poetry originated in the sixteenth century and reflects on some aspect of nature and creates images.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Irony illustrates a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy. The result of an action or situation is the reverse of what is expected. A famous example of irony is ''Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink' in the Ancient Mariner.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Lyric Poetry consists of a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now commonly referred to as the words to a song. Lyric poetry does not tell a story which portrays characters and actions. The lyric poet addresses the reader directly, portraying his or her own feeling, state of mind, and perceptions.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

A Name Poem, or Acrostic Poem, tells about the word. It uses the letters of the word for the first letter of each line.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Odes are long poems which are serious in nature and written to a set structure. John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and "Ode To A Nightingale" are probably the most famous examples of this type of poem.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Category romances (also known as series romances) are a special type all their own. These are the books put out in monthly "lines," such as Silhouette Special Edition and Harlequin American Romances. The major publishers are Harlequin and Silhouette, although some other publishers have dabbled in this field. All but one of the lines are contemporary. Category romances are shorter than the typical contemporary romance. Like other types of romances, they can be dramatic, humorous, sexy, or mysterious. Before submitting to one of the lines, you must read their guidelines and read the books within that line. Many writers start out writing category romance and go on to longer "single-title" romances. (A single-title book is a romance that is not part of a series.)

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Regencies are not the same as historical novels set during the Regency period. They are shorter, generally with an emphasis on Regency society and dialogue over action and sex (although Mary Balogh and others have brought sexuality into the Regency.) It's safe to say that Regency romances owe as much to Georgette Heyer (one of SF author Lois McMaster Bujold's favorite writers) as they do to Jane Austen. However, today's Regency doesn't have to be a drawing room comedy or a romp. The Regency can be about angst-ridden characters, about heroes discovering the importance of family life, about heroines recovering from sexual abuse, bluestockings, and even about heroines forced to become prostitutes (Mary Balogh's The Secret Pearl). Many writers started out writing Regencies before turning to historicals romances.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Some romances don't take place in the real world -- they take place on other planets or in imaginary lands, or they involve creatures such as vampires, werewolves, genies, ghosts, and pixies. The tone can range from dark and gloomy to whimsical, even fluffy. Be aware that the worldbuilding and science fiction elements usually aren't as strong as in typical science fiction or fantasy -- the romance always comes first. Books in these subgenres are generally hard to sell to traditional publishers, although J.D. Robb (actually Nora Roberts) and Dara Joy do well. However, some e-publishers specialize in these books.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

Romantic suspense is a cousin of the Gothic romance. Today, the windswept moors and spooky houses are out of favor. Most romantic suspense novels explore plots involving drug dealers, serial killers, smugglers, and the like. While most of these books are serious, there is a growing trend in humorous romantic suspense novels. Almost all romantic suspense novels are contemporaries, although some authors (such as Elizabeth Thornton and Amanda Quick) have written historicals with romantic suspense subplots. Many writers have used romantic suspense as a bridge from romance novels to mainstream bestsellerdom.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink

This is a genre that you don't see much of today unless you spend a lot of time in used book stores. These books were more popular in previous decades. That's not to say Gothic romances aren't being published, but they're often published as romantic suspense instead. The typical Gothic romance combines moody atmosphere and suspense with a brooding hero and a heroine is unsure of whether she can trust the hero. For example, the heroine might wonder if the rumors about the hero killing his first wife are true. In some Gothics, the heroine had to decide between two men -- often a fair, charming man and a dark, brooding one. Of course, the charming man turned out to be the psychopathic killer, and the brooding man saved her.

Moderators: SORAbear, Ink