Types of Language

A writer uses a lot of language when they write. Sometimes, it’s not always English. Maybe it’s German, or French. I was reading a spy book a few weeks ago that had Portuguese and Russian in it. But that’s not really the language I’m looking to talk about today.

I’m talking about writer’s words.

Prose:

Prose is a short term used to explain a certain type of figurative language. Prose is not poetry, it’s not song lyrics. It’s neither titles or blurbs. Prose is the type of figurative languate that writers use. It’s words, pulled together, put in place, and surrounded by punctuation. Prose is the magical devise that a writer uses to form worlds, to create people, and to form relationships.

Each writer has a specific style of writing. Or, in other words, a specific style of prose.

WIP:

When a writer uses the term ‘WIP’ they’re using it as an abbreviation, Work In Progress. Simply, when someone asks you about your WIP they’re asking you “how’s your book doing? Are you still on that one protect, or do you have two now?” It’s a simple way to speak of someone’s writing project without reciting the title. And if you’re like me, who doesn’t know what my current book’s title is, it’s an easy way to speak of your novel until you know the title.

Beta Readers:

Every writer will need someone to look at their novels eventually. And, most times, you will want someone to look at it before you send it to a professional editor or a publishing house. That’s where Beta Readers come in. Beta Readers are the people who come in with fresh eyes, critiquing and pointing out pieces that need to be changed. Beta Readers are really useful, especially when you’ve been reading the same thing for so long. Another term for a Beta Reader is a Critique Partner, although Critique Partners will usually be more concise and pointedwih their critiques.

Alpha Reader:

I know, Beta Readers and Alpha Readers sound almost the same. In the big picture, they are. Alpha Readers are the people who come at the beginning, talking through the plot and characters with the writer before the writing even begins. Alpha Readers critique the world building, and the character archs before they’re words on a page.

Synopsis:

I’m pretty sure that ‘synopsis’ is a word used even outside of the writing world, but it is definitely a word used within the industry. A synopsis (for writing) is a short write up of your story, a little outline, introducing the main character and the main problem. Synopsis’ are usually sent in with the publisher when the author begin’s querying.

(Hold on…you may be thinking. What is querying? *grins*)

Query:

When writer queries, they want to be come an author (and yes, the two are different). To query is the process of sending your manuscript or writing work into a publisher or press. Querying usually consists of a these steps: 1) edit like mad until your writing is as perfect as you can make it. 2) find a publisher or agent that you want to send your manuscript to. 3) you set up a query letter (holding an introduction of yourself and the novel) and send your manuscript away. To a lot of writers, the querying stage of writing is stressful and worrisome, but that wasn’t how I found it. In the end, it took almost two months of rather stretched-out working to gather the information for the query letters, then it was over, and the waiting begins.

Agent:

I know this is not a really only writing-related word, but it is definitely used a lot in the author world. To writers, an Agent is the person who speaks for you. This is the person who takes you manuscript, sees how good it is, then decides if it’s ready for representation or not. After all, the agent is the person who finds the publishers and query the publishers. In the end, it’s either get a agent and have all the options (but a little less money in the bank account) or don’t use an agent, and have less options at publishing houses (but you still haven’t paid anyone). Agents are also widely known as Publishing Assistants or Publishing Agents.

MC:

This is another abbreviation, used to represent a writer’s Main Character. Let’s face it, the only real reason that writers use this abbreviation is that it’s really hard to write the entire ‘Main Character’ mumbo jumbo. Of course, ’MC’ is used in very relaxed, totally not professional situations. You do not want you agent or publisher to think your unprofessional by using this abbreviation in your query.

Novela:

You’ve probably heard me use this term to describe the new spy novel I’m writing. But, in all honesty, it’s more a measure of length. A short story is anywhere between...a very few number of words and 25 thousand words. A novela is a story with the word count of anywhere between 25001 and 75 thousand words. A novel is anything with a word count above 75 thousand words.

(I have to thank the comments section for finding me this one)

Ghostwriter:

A Ghostwriter might seem like a weird term for someone who just writes books, like all the other writers, but it really isn’t. In all honesty, a Ghostwriter is someone who works for an author, writing the book, or some of the book for them. Sometimes, when it comes to Fourth Wing’s sequel, Iron Flame (never read these books, they are neither Christian or child friendly and should never have been published in the first place) you can see the misuse of people writing novels for other people. (in this case, the prose *wink wink* in Iron Flame sucked compared to the first book, so some writers ganged up on social media and started this conspiracy theory that Iron Flame wasn’t written by the author of Fourth Wing.) Annnywayyys, back to the point, a Ghostwriter will work for the author, either writing the entire first draft or writing the entire book for the ‘author.’ *presses lips together firmly* and not all Ghostwriters are bad, some help writers get through writer’s block stumps or roads that we’re on the map. But they’re not all that they’re hyped up to be, especially to a genuine author who does all the work themselves.

I should have a name for this writer’s language, but I don’t, really. You can call it Writerish if you want, but it’s not really all that catchy. XD

Stay faithful, dear reader.

-Claudia