Last week, I listed nine terms writers should know. In this article, I list six more. After all, one list isn’t enough to include every literary term; writers are too obsessively verbose for that.
Whether it be official terms used in the industry, or the lingo your readers use, there are several terms you should be familiar with. Some are lighthearted, while there are others you should research further after you finish this article.
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1) Sensitivity Reader
Sensitivity readers are a point of contention in the community, with many arguing for and against the notion. A sensitivity reader is someone who evaluates your content to assure it isn’t perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people of colour, those from the LGBTQ community, and so on. They can be especially relevant if your work features a diverse cast, as they can catch stereotypes you may have been using unconsciously. Furthermore, they are an official form of editor, the way a proofreader or a line editor are; they aren’t your one gay friend. Though you could have a friend look over your work, sensitivity readers occupy positions in their own right, and will be paid for their time and professional expertise as other editors are.
While many praise sensitivity readers for their work, others find them to be too close to censors. Whatever one’s opinion of the position, a sensitivity reader can save an author from experiencing a PR headache later. If a major faux pas is caught at the editing stage, it can save a published writer from becoming labeled as a racist and bullied on Twitter. In this sense, a sensitivity reader could be seen as a safeguard for well meaning writers unaware of how certain passages could be negatively received.
At the same time, there are writers who would prefer to take the risk and who may even disagree with the “rules” laid out by the sensitivity reader. They may even be aware of a taboo they’re committing, but may feel they are doing it for a justifiable reason.
Whatever your opinion, sensitivity readers are another form of editor to consider. If you’re self published, it will ultimately be up to what you, as the author, are willing to spend and risk. No one is forcing a sensitivity reader on you, though many will recommend them.
2) Copy Writer
A copy writer has nothing to do with writing fiction. Instead, copy writers are those who write advertisements for blenders or washing machines, blurbs on products, promotional emails, and so on. Copy writers don’t get to write about the “exciting” stuff, such as dragons or love triangles, but they’re mentioned within the publishing industry for one important reason: they make money. People determined to make money from their writing, no matter what kind of writing it is, can earn a healthy wage as copy writers.
Copy writing won’t be for everyone, of course; if you’re solely interested in earning dollars from fiction, this section is irrelevant to you. However, it is a viable career and one you’ll eventually hear about if you wade through enough writing articles.
The content of copy writers can simply be known as “copy.” Even if this sounds too dry to you, knowing how to write copy can still be useful, since you can utilize the skills to write emails, blurbs, or ads for your own work. If you understand how copy works, you can more effectively sell your own products—such as your books, or any merchandise.
3) Shipping
To return to the fluffier side of the writing world, “shipping” is a term used within the reading community. While your main focus might be the writing community, it’s important to be involved in, or at least aware of, what’s happening in the reading community. After all, there’s a great deal of overlap between the two. All writers are readers, and those in the reading community are your customers. They’re not just the ones who will buy your books; they’re the ones who will review them, rave about them, and “ship” their favourite characters within your series.
If you’re between the age of twelve and twenty five, you likely know what the term means, but for those who don’t it’s simple: “shipping” refers to the romantic pairing a reader is rooting for. When someone is “Team Peeta,” they are shipping Katniss with Peeta. If they are “Team Gale,” they are shipping Katniss with Gale.
Any books which include romance have a possibility of their characters being “shipped” with others, but shipping will be especially relevant in love triangles where it’s uncertain which love interest the protagonist will ultimately settle on. Fandoms can have heated debates about “ships” and, while you don’t want to watch such discourse too closely, it doesn’t hurt to know what is going on in the heads of your readers. They may even ship characters you hadn’t given much thought to, which might prompt you to pair them up to satisfy the crowd—though you should never pair off characters solely to please others.
In fact, you won’t be able to please everyone, because every fan will have different ships. Instead, you can only observe the craze and learn from it—if you notice your readers shipping bad boys with everyone, that’s a clue to utilize more bad boys in your future books. Seeing the most popular ships can tell you what kinds of characters resonate with your readers, and what traits they would like to see more of.
As an aside, shipping isn’t exclusive to books. It can also be used in films, television series, video games, or any form of media where characters and romantic relationships are present. They’re also more likely to occur in popular or cult fandoms.
4) Fanfiction
You’re likely familiar with the concept of fanfiction, or fanfic for short: these are works, generated by readers, which feature worlds and characters that do not belong to the writer. Harry Potter is the most popular world for fanfiction authors to tackle, but writers may also write fanfiction for Twilight, Star Wars, or their favourite anime series. Some may write for a video game fandom. Dragon Age has a thriving fanfiction community (though the majority seem to be obsessed with Solas for some reason).
While most original authors are comfortable with, and even encouraging towards, fanfiction, others have asked readers not to write it. Anne Rice has made it clear she won’t tolerate fanfiction for The Vampire Chronicles, which means anyone dreaming of writing a fanfiction about Lestat will have to put the breaks on that idea.
Though a form of fiction that’s had negative connotations, fanfiction does seem to be experiencing a shift. More seem willing to take it seriously, and there are examples of fanfiction which are well written. Some pieces have even become as famous as the original works. In rare cases, publishing fanfiction has led to an author landing an actual deal: Fifty Shades of Gray started as a Twilight fanfiction.
Even for more “serious” authors, fanfiction can be a good way to not only develop one’s writing skills, but to connect with a community. You may be a die hard Potterhead who nevertheless feels the series lacks something. By writing a story which includes what you wish to see, you not only connect with other Potterheads but with those who have similar tastes.
Publishing fanfiction can help you to build a community, as you’re tapping into a known name. Once someone has fallen in love with your Harry Potter spin offs, they might be willing to give your original fiction a shot. Though Cassandra Clare is now famed for her best selling Shadowhunter series, she first made her mark publishing The Draco Trilogy, a series of Harry Potter books following everyone’s favourite bad boy, Draco Malfoy. It’s not hard, in reading Clare’s current books, to see where her inspiration comes from. Many of her love interests have hard edges, (her Herondale family is even, like the Malfoy’s, known for being respected, haughty, and blond) and the magic in her series is very reminiscent of that seen in the Potter books.
If nothing else, writing fanfiction can train you to write better original fiction, and to study the worlds you write in so that you might emulate their best elements in your original stories.
Popular places to publish your fanfiction are Wattpad, Fanfiction.net, and An Archive of Our Own. The latter two websites aren’t as pretty as Wattpad, and yet they remain popular for dedicated fandoms.
5) Self Insert
Part of why fanfiction, and even some popular traditional novels, get a bad rep is because of the use of self inserts. A self insert is when the author places himself or herself in a narrative to fulfill a fantasy. Many protagonists in RPG games are self inserts, with people creating themselves in the likes of Skyrim or Dragon Age so that they can live out their fantasies of becoming heroes, developing super powers, and falling in love with someone witty and attractive. However, the difference between self inserts in video games and self inserts in fiction is that the former isn’t generally shared with other people.
While we all put something of ourselves into our characters, having a character entirely based off of yourself can be off putting to readers. It’s not that we, as writers, aren’t interesting human beings. The problem with most self inserts is that the writer portrays themselves as flawless. We all want to be the hero of the story, and so we ignore our flaws, make ourselves super models, and give ourselves lists of powers nobody cares about.
People who write self insert stories are doing it for their own satisfaction, to engage in wish fulfillment; this sounds healthy enough, yet these writers feel the need to share their bland and oddly specific fantasies with others. Nobody wants to read a story where a flawless version of you dates Harry Potter while you solve every problem with ease.
There could be an argument for self inserts if they’re well written—which is rare. If one is aware of their own flaws, and is willing to explore them in a narrative, basing a character off of yourself doesn’t have to be terrible. Just be sure to showcase those flaws, as well as your own fears and mistakes, and you’ll be okay (at least, your narrative will be; most self inserts probably go wrong because an honest portrayal of one’s self would require not only a high level of self awareness, but serious vulnerability).
Many self inserts also get categorized as Mary Sue’s.
6) Mary Sue
Mary Sue’s are bland protagonists. They have no flaws, they easily solve everyone’s problems, and they never make mistakes. They also lack personality, in that they may not have distinct hobbies, a career, or preferences. If they do have interests, these are listed off and then never mentioned again.
Mary Sue’s often have unusual physical quirks in order to make them seem more interesting than they actually are. These quirks, such as blue hair, pink eyes, a robot arm, or scarred lips, aren’t bad in their own right, but become an issue when used in lieu of actual personality traits. These characters will always be written as cool, sweeping in to save the day, taking down enemies with one punch, or amazing everyone with grand speeches.
In a word, Mary Sue’s are perfect, and therefore horribly bland for readers. It should be noted that for any character, personality comes first. Even if your character has brown eyes, brown hair, and only wears t-shirts, he can still be memorable if his personality is engaging. He doesn’t have to “look cool.”
By the same token, having a character with a handful of unusual physical traits can cement them in the reader’s mind, assuming their personalities are well developed, though these traits should be used in moderation. If a character has heterochromia, green skin, purple hair, a strange scar, vampire fangs, and a robot arm, you’ve probably overdone it.
Many consider Bella Swan, of the Twilight series, to be both a self insert for Meyer and a Mary Sue. Bella spends an unusual amount of time marveling at the looks of Edward, and Bella herself is strangely similar to Meyer herself—both have brown hair and read books.
One Punch Man, conversely, is a manga and anime series which makes fun of the character who can solve everything with ease. When a Mary Sue is male, he is called a Gary Stu.
In Conclusion
Whether it be the publishing industry or the writing community, there are a number of terms a writer should be familiar with. These will not only help you understand the community better, but the industry too. It can seem overwhelming to new writers, but once you know these words you’ll be navigating the community with ease (or at least without continual Google searches when new words pop up).
What other terms have you heard that I’ve missed? Do you have any strong opinions about the Mary Sue’s you’ve encountered? Let me know!