Creative Writing: Introductory: Genres

If you need inspiration for your next story or poem, be sure to review this list of words related to creative writing. We won't keep you in suspense: you'll learn all about plot, characterization, dialogue, and more.

Here are links to our lists in the collection: General Terms, Plot Development, Genres, Literary Devices
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. genre
    a kind of literary or artistic work
  2. fiction
    a literary work based on the imagination
  3. drama
    the literary genre of works intended for the theater
  4. comedy
    light and humorous drama with a happy ending
  5. fantasy
    fiction with a large amount of imagination in it
  6. science fiction
    genre involving the imagined impact of technology on society
  7. horror
    a genre of fiction that evokes suspense and feelings of fear
  8. thriller
    a suspenseful story, play, or movie
  9. gothic
    characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque
  10. mystery
    a story about a crime presented as a novel or play or movie
  11. romance
    a story dealing with love
  12. myth
    a traditional story serving to explain a world view
  13. mythology
    the body of stories associated with a culture or institution
  14. prose
    ordinary writing as distinguished from verse
  15. short story
    a brief but fully developed prose narrative
  16. novel
    an extended fictional work in prose
  17. novella
    a short novel
  18. poem
    a composition in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
  19. poetry
    literature in metrical form
  20. ballad
    a narrative poem of popular origin
  21. epic
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  22. saga
    a narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family
  23. fable
    a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
  24. allegory
    a short moral story
  25. parable
    a short moral story
Created on Tue Jul 26 13:51:55 EDT 2022 (updated Tue Jul 26 14:57:43 EDT 2022)

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