Glossary
We’ve curated a glossary of terms regarding all things writing and publishing related. From commonly-used terms to abbreviations, our glossary will guide writers and people starting out in publishing, to cut through the jargon and gain a better understanding.
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Emotional beat
An emotional beat is when the action of a story creates an emotional reaction in your character. The emotional beat is there to show us what will motivate our character's next action. The emotional beats of a story help to outline the arc of a character.
For example, in the film Babyteeth, the inciting incident is the very first meeting between Milla and Moses. Milla falls in love very quickly with Moses. When we find Moses robbing her house in the middle of the night, her parents are angry. However, the emotional beat for her parents is seeing Milla happy and giddy with her first love. As Milla has just been diagnosed with cancer, we know that her parent's emotional beat - prioritising their daughter's happiness over their own concerns about Moses - will influence the rest of the film.
Imperative
The mood of verbs used in commands and requests. In English verbs the form of the imperative is identical to the infinitive.
A more extensive list of grammatical terms is included in The Right Word: A Writer’s Toolkit of Grammar, Vocabulary and Literary Terms (Bloomsbury 2021)
© Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2021
Upper Middle Grade
Middle Grade fiction can be broadly split into two terms: Upper and Lower. Upper Middle Grade fiction is normally for 9-12 year olds and usually has a higher word count and might touch on more mature themes. Example of Upper Middle Grade fiction include The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell, Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson, The Island At The End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, and As Brave As You by Jason Renyolds.