An Introvert's World of Books discussion
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Cracking the Code
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A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it's seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world.
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Genres vs. Tropes: Getting your novel to the right readers
A genre is a type of story with a familiar model, such as a mystery or romance. A trope is a plot mechanism commonly used within that genre, like a damsel in distress situation or a “chosen one.�
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Cliché vs. Trope in Writing: How They Differ, with Examples
The difference between a trope and a cliché is that tropes reflect pre-existing genre archetypes, and they're helpful to writers because they come from storytelling patterns that have worked well for generations. A cliché reflects patterns that are no longer effective, and can even be derogatory or damaging.
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This could be useful! Thank you, Jeni. PS I am probably thick but can't for the life of me figure out how to directly reply to someone via the app.
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Paranormal:
Vampires
Warewolves
Fantasy:
Dragons
Faery
Witches
A trope is the general theme within a genre- mainly to do with love:
1. enemy to lovers
2. friends to lovers
3. Grumpy and Sunshine (I'm guessing personality and opposites attract?)
We talked about Dystopian and Magical Realism (which is becoming my new favorite genre). However, this is where she lost me and decided to end the lesson so I will say I had a success (the Tropes.)
Moms of teenagers are such losers! Har Har.
Bookish Relationship Terms:
OTP: One True Pairing (that couple that you will root for till the end of time)
NOTP: (Pronounced No-TP) Basically the opposite of an OTP. You do not want this couple together!
BROTP/Bromance: A friendship (between guys) that you adore!
Ship: If you ship a couple, it means that you want them to get together (comes from the word “relationship�).
HEA: Happily Ever After
Book Boyfriend/Girlfriend: The fictional boy (or girl) you only wish could be your real-life love.
Insta-love/Insta-lust: The phenomenon that happens all too often in books when the couple meets and instantly falls in love (or, sometimes, lust).
Love Triangle: When the main character can’t decide between two romantic partners—most frustrating when this is drawn out for multiple books in a series.
Slash Fiction: A type of fan fiction where two same-sex characters are paired together (often guys). Sometimes slash can just refer to the imagined pairing of two same-sex characters (not necessarily within fan fiction).
OMYM/OWYM: Older man, younger woman/Older woman, younger man
Other Reading Emotion Terms:
The Feels: This means that you were overwhelmed with emotion when reading the book often meaning that lots of different emotions were involved. It’s high praise to say that a book gave you all the feels!
Book Hangover: When a book leaves you emotionally drained. Often this leads to the reader not being able to jump right into another book and sometimes leads to a �
Reading Slump/Blogging Slump: Feeling uninspired to read and/or blog. Or sometimes just a slump where you read a string of underwhelming books or post a bunch of unimaginative posts.
Mood Reader/Free-Range Reader: Someone who typically picks up a book based on their current mood or just picks up whatever they feel like in the moment. In contrast, many bloggers have reading schedules (either based on ARCs to review or challenges).
Reading/Reviewing Terms:
TBR: To-Be-Read. The books that you plan to read, sometimes imminently (or sometimes just all of the random books you’ve ever wanted to read). Often refers to the shelf on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
DNF: Did not finish. (A book you started to read but couldn’t get through.)
RTC: Review to come
Binge-Read: Reading all (or many) of the books in a series in a row.
Spoiler: Anything in your review/discussion that reveals important details from a book.
TSTL: (Too stupid to live) A hero or heroine who keeps making really bad decisions, almost gets killed, and doesn’t learn from their mistakes.
Cliffie: A cliffhanger. (When the book ends in the middle of a dramatic moment and you have to wait till the next book to find out what happens.)
Character/Plot Terms:
MC: Main character (book is told from their POV).
POV: Point of view (the perspective that the book is told from).
POC/BIPOC: People of color/Black, Indigenous, and people of color
AAPI: Asian American/ Pacific Islander
Daphne: A female character who has to be rescued all the time (in reference to Daphne from Scooby Doo)
Mary Sue: A character who is too perfect and/or too good (which, strangely, originated from a Star Trek parody story).
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist.
Twist: An unexpected event in a book—typically one that changes the direction of the plot or characters dramatically.
Info-Dump: When the author gives you lots of background information all at once via narration or dialogue.
Bechdel Test: Refers to the way that women are represented in a book. A book is generally said to have “passed� if the book has at least two female characters who talk to each other about something other than men.
Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose POV is not trustworthy (could be due to lying, misinformation on the part of the MC, mental health or memory issues, etc.).
Genres/Age Ranges:
PB: Picture book.
MG: Middle Grade (typically geared toward ages 8-12).
YA: Young Adult (typically geared toward high school-aged readers—or features main characters in that age range).
NA: New Adult (typically geared toward college age or just out of college—or features main characters in that age range).
Contemp: Contemporary fiction, meaning that it takes place in modern day and generally doesn’t have any magical, sci-fi or fantasy elements.
SF/F: Sci-Fi or Fantasy.
PNR: Paranormal Romance (usually adult).
UF/Paranormal: Urban Fantasy is, again, typically used to describe adult titles. YA and under is more often referred to as paranormal (or contemporary fantasy).
Magical Realism/Contemporary Fantasy: A book that is set in the real world with a magical or fantastical twist. (Some would say that the term magical realism should only be associated with books of Latin American origin.)
Verse Novel: A novel that is written in verse (poems). Must have a complete narrative arc (so, not a poetry collection but an actual story written in verse).
Format/Publishing Terms:
ARC/Galley/Uncorrected Proof/eARC/DRC: These are all terms that refer to an Advanced Reader’s Copy—a (typically unfinalized) copy of the book that publishers provide to reviewers before the publication date. eARC and DRC (Digital Review Copy) both refer to electronic copies of a book.
Physical Copy: (Often in reference to an ARC) Means that you have a hardcover or paperback version of the book, not an ebook.
Finished Copy/FC: The book in its final, published form.
PB: Paperback.
HC: Hardcover.
New Release: A book that has been released recently (usually in the current calendar year).
Backlist: A book that was released before the current calendar year.
Self-Published: Published by the author (often via Amazon).
Traditionally Published: Published by one of the major publishing houses.
Indie/Small-Press: Published by a small independent publisher.
ISBN: International Standard Book Number. A unique number that identifies a published book.
MS: Manuscript (the copy of the book that’s actually written or typed by the author).
WIP: Work in progress (a book that the author is currently working on).
Blurb: The synopsis that you find on the back of the book and sites like Amazon and Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.
Street Teams: A team of bloggers and/or readers who enthusiastically promote an author or a series. Sometimes street team members get special perks from the author like first dibs on ARCs.
Pre-order Incentive/Campaign: A special offer where the author or publisher sends out special gifts to people who have pre-ordered a particular book. I have a list of current pre-order incentives on my blog that’s updated weekly!
Memes:
Meme: According to Merriam-Webster a meme is defined as “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.� In the book blogging world, it’s typically a link-up centered on a theme where lots of bloggers participate and link up to a master post. There are lots of these. Here are just a few that I could think of:
TTT: Top Ten Tuesday � A different bookish top ten list every week.
CWW/WoW: Can’t Wait Wednesday (used to be Waiting on Wednesday) � Lists an upcoming book the blogger is looking forward to.
Sunday Post: A weekly wrap-up.
StS: Stacking the Shelves � Books that have been newly acquired.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?: Tell what you’re reading that week.
Teaser Tuesday: List a teaser sentence from the book you’re currently reading.
That’s What He Said Thursday: Share a line from your current book boyfriend.
Cover Characteristic: Features a different type of cover element each week.
Feature & Follow Friday: A meme that encourages following back.
Tag: Usually a post with a list of quick categories or questions around a theme. The blogger puts up their post and then “tags� other bloggers, encouraging them to complete the list as well.
Blog Hop/Giveaway Hop: A linky that is designed so that participants “hop� from blog to blog visiting many of the linked posts. (Often this is done with a giveaway, so that there is a link-up of lots of blogs participating in a giveaway and people can hop to all of them to enter many different giveaways).
Buddy Read/Readalong: When a group of two or more people read a book at the same time so they can discuss it as they go.
OTSP Secret Sister: A monthly bookish secret sister project put together by a few bloggers as part of their “On the Same Page� feature.
Bookish and Social Media Abbreviations/Terms:
NG: NetGalley (a site that provides digital review copies).
EW: Edelweiss (another site that provides digital review copies).
GR: Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ (a site where you can post reviews and more!).
FB: Facebook.
BookTube: Bookish vlogs (video blogs) posted to YouTube.
Bookstagram: Instagram feeds that are dedicated to pictures of books.
TBD: The Book Depository (you’ll see this abbreviation on international giveaways a lot).