Writing and Literature Glossary

Presentation of a story from its origins, as opposed to opening in the middle of the action.

An explicitly referenced reuse of a passage or idea according to a given bibliographic convention.

An abundant sequence of terms or elements whose number produces an effect of profusion or intensity.

A major division of a play corresponding to a stage of the action, though not obligatory in all dramaturgies.

A sequence foregrounding acts and their immediate consequences rather than retrospective commentary.

A response that targets the person rather than the substance of their proposition; some criticisms of credibility can nonetheless be relevant.

Rights required to transform a work into another form, such as a film, a play, or a game, depending on the case.

A person who transforms a work for another format, audience, or language according to the project and available rights.

A moment when the voice of the text speaks directly to the reader, to establish complicity or create distance.

A feature letting the reader enlarge or reduce the text without unnecessarily losing content or order.

A contractual advance paid against the author's future earnings, according to applicable rules and clauses.

Extracts from a work released publicly before its launch, often for media presentation purposes.

Fiction emphasizing travel, dangers, trials, and reversals that transform the protagonist's situation.

A set of artistic and intellectual practices articulating African or diasporic experiences with speculative imaginaries and alternative futures.

A twelve-syllable metrical line, traditionally organized around a medial caesura in classical French poetry.

A concrete and sustained representation of an abstract idea through organized characters, objects, or situations.

Marked repetition of a consonantal sound in neighboring words, capable of contributing to rhythm or evocation.

A textual description of an image intended notably for assistive technologies, suited to the image's function in the book.

The presence of an element attributed to a period to which it does not historically belong; it may be an error or a deliberate choice.

A break in syntactic construction in which the end of the sentence does not follow the structure initially engaged.

Repetition at the beginning of a segment of the term placed at the end of the preceding segment.

A narrative return to an event prior to the point in the story where the narrative stands; often called a flashback.

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive segments.

A large-scale narrative poem inherited notably from Greek and Latin traditions, linked to heroes and collective destinies.

A hand-written document from a historical period, which may transmit works in several states.

A device that attributes to a human character animal traits or behaviors, often with expressive value.

A document or development added after the main body to provide complementary information.

A character, group, or force that opposes the protagonist's objective and helps create the conflict.

An organized selection of texts or extracts brought together by theme, period, author, or editorial project.

A central character who departs from usual heroic models through weaknesses, contradictions, or behaviors.

Fiction that projects trends or hypotheses of its present into a possible future, often with critical intent.

An expression whose intended meaning is contrary to its literal sense, often with ironic intent.

The setting side by side of opposed realities or ideas, generally in a structure that makes the contrast felt.

The use of a proper name as a common noun or, conversely, of a general designation as a proper name.

A relation of semantic opposition between two words, in diverse modalities such as contradiction or gradability.

A brief and dense formulation of an observation or thought, capable of circulating on its own.

A deliberate interruption of a sentence, leaving the reader to imagine the rest or expressing an emotion.

A part added after the main text to develop technical, documentary, or methodological information.

A word or turn of phrase associated with an earlier state of the language, sometimes reused for historical color.

A recurring figure or structure recognized across several narratives; it serves as a reference without constituting a full personality.

A reason advanced to support or contest a thesis, distinct from the example that may illustrate it.

A justification grounded in the prestige of a person or institution; its relevance depends on the expertise invoked.

A bringing together of two situations to clarify or defend a proposition; its validity depends on relevant resemblances.

Partial acknowledgment of an opposing point, generally followed by a restriction or an overcoming.

A specific case used to make concrete, clarify, or support a general idea.

Words addressed to the audience or to a particular character, supposed not to be heard by the others on stage.

Repetition of a vowel sound in several words close together, regardless of the presence of rhymes.

The suppression of expected coordinating links, which can quicken or fragment the rhythm.

The sensory and emotional effect produced by setting, rhythm, imagery, and other representational choices.

A recording of a text read or performed, abridged or unabridged depending on the edition.

A performer who gives voice to the recorded text; to be distinguished from the narrative instance within the work.

A reading experience enriched with interactive, sound, or multimedia elements, depending on different editorial projects.

The originator of a work; their actual presence should not be confused with the voice that tells the story in the text.

The feminine form of auteur, used to designate a woman who creates works; terminological usage varies by context.

A brief presentation of the relevant elements of an author's background, without need to be an exhaustive CV.

A service in which the author finances the making or publication; it is legally distinct from the traditional publishing contract in France.

The artistic, intellectual, or emotional project that guides the work, without fixing all possible interpretations on its own.

The impression of singularity produced by writing choices; it does not necessarily designate autobiographical confession.

A novelistic fiction inspired by its author's life, without necessarily proposing the explicit identity pact of autobiography.

The engagement proposed to the reader whereby author, narrator, and main character refer to the same real individual.

A retrospective account that a real person gives of their own life, on the basis of an identity pact proposed to the reader.

A homodiegetic narrator who is also the main character of the story he or she relates.

A practice that combines a declared identity between author, narrator, and character with fictional devices; its definitions remain debated.

A device associated notably with Surrealism, consisting in writing quickly while suspending rational control as much as possible.

A group or approach deliberately seeking to break with established artistic forms and to experiment with new devices.

The text and elements on the back face of a book, often intended to present it to readers.

The set of older titles still exploited and available in a catalog, distinct from new releases alone.

A medieval poetic form with regular stanzas and a refrain, often closed by an envoi; not to be confused with the unrelated word 'ballad' in English.

A set of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century artistic tendencies often marked by movement, instability, and metamorphosis.

A work selling in large numbers over a given period or market; the expression sets no universal threshold.

Reading of an unpublished version by people invited to share their experience and reader's remarks.

The diversity of works, languages, publishers, and forms of publication accessible to the public in the book ecosystem.

Information describing a publication, such as title, author, language, publisher, date, and identifiers.

A set of information enabling identification and retrieval of a publication in a given citation format.

An organized list of references used or recommended for a work, dossier, or piece of research.

A novel that follows the intellectual, emotional, or social formation of a character confronting the world.

A synthetic presentation of a person's life and background, intended to identify and contextualize their activity.

An account of a person's life produced by another, drawing on sources and compositional choices.

Regular verse without rhyme; the exact meaning of the term varies by linguistic tradition.

A structured publication of pages or digital content designed to be consulted as an editorial unit.

A formula by which the author symbolically addresses a work to a person or group, distinct from a hand-written inscription.

Logistics activities ensuring storage, orders, invoicing, and delivery, distinct from commercial prospecting.

An event gathering book professionals and the public around meetings, presentations, and possible sales.

The dimensions or material configuration of a book; the term can also denote a commercial declension.

A craftsperson or professional who assembles and protects the leaves or gatherings of a book by a binding.

A professional who selects, advises on, and sells books, in store or through other channels.

The return of unsold copies to the distributor or publisher, according to commercial circuit agreements.

A search for ideas produced without immediate selection, alone or in a group, before a sorting phase.

A pause or metrical articulation located at a structural point of the line, whose treatment varies by period.

An invitation to propose writings meeting criteria of theme, form, length, or schedule.

A poem whose graphic arrangement draws a shape that dialogues with the meaning of the words.

The use of a word beyond its primary sense to fill the lack of a proper term, such as the 'leg' of a table.

The fact that concretely sets the main movement of the story in motion; it may coincide with the inciting incident.

A long medieval epic poem, generally in laisses, celebrating heroic deeds and collective memories.

A division of a work generally identified by a title or number and forming a unit of progression.

A being or entity constructed by a narrative, defined by actions, relationships, speech, and attributes.

The trajectory of a character's evolution or resistance to change across the events.

A revision combining the functions of several characters to clarify or tighten a plot.

An affective, social, familial, or conflictual bond whose transformation contributes to the story's stakes.

A working document gathering information, desires, relationships, and contradictions of a character.

The set of means by which a text makes a character known, directly by description or indirectly through actions.

A dramaturgical principle stating that a detail highlighted should contribute to the economy of the work; advice rather than law.

A crossed arrangement of elements following an ABBA pattern, bearing on words, functions, or ideas.

The set of publications designed primarily for child or adolescent audiences, in very varied forms and subjects.

A work of fiction designed for child or adolescent readers, without a strictly universal age boundary.

A book in which images, text, and page layout together construct the reading, sometimes with few or no words.

A branching narrative form in which the reader makes choices that may lead to different continuations or endings.

A novel whose shape is built through the alternation or interweaving of several characters or significant voices.

A regular or occasional form that develops a personal view of facts, readings, or everyday life.

The temporal order in which the events of the story unfold, independent of the order chosen to tell them.

A retrospective designation of tendencies valuing measure, clarity, and aesthetic rules, particularly in seventeenth-century France.

A designation for fictions granting a structuring place to climate change and its consequences.

An interruption of an episode or part at an uncertain moment, designed to heighten anticipation of what follows.

The point of major tension or confrontation toward which a determining part of the plot converges.

Careful study of the details of a passage, its language, and its organization, often called 'close reading' in English.

An analysis following the order of the text to show the progression of its devices and effects.

A book formed of assembled and bound leaves, as opposed notably to the scroll.

A person in charge of the coherence and selection of titles in an identified editorial set.

A group presented as a relatively unified narrative actor, sometimes without a dominant individual.

A statement generally placed at the end of a work giving information about its production or printing.

A dramatic genre that uses situations, behavior, or speech to produce comic, and sometimes critical, effects.

The set of devices that provoke laughter or smiles, sometimes to criticize a situation or norm.

A narrative that follows a character through trials that transform their understanding of self or world.

The work of presenting, prospecting, and promoting books with resellers, distinct from their delivery.

A discipline studying the relations between literatures, languages, and arts beyond a single national corpus.

A version comprising the whole of the work, finished enough to be examined globally.

A closing part that answers a question, summarizes an argument, or opens onto other avenues.

A conditional agreement depending on revisions, validations, or negotiations still to be carried out.

The opposition of desires, interests, or forces that creates dramatic tension within or between individuals or socially.

A sequence in which incompatible objectives clash in direct interaction.

The affective, cultural, or contextual values added to the descriptive meaning of a word.

Writing that imposes explicit rules of composition, linguistic, mathematical, or structural, to elicit new forms.

The consistency of facts, dates, relationships, and rules across a story or series of works.

Systematic verification of dates, ages, places, objects, and facts in order to avoid unintended contradictions.

An intervention that makes a text ready for typesetting, notably harmonizing language, references, and presentation.

The set of prerogatives recognized to the creator of an original work, comprising in French law moral and economic rights.

A delimited set of texts assembled for a study, comparison, or piece of research.

A notice of correction attached to a publication; the term is especially common in scholarly publishing.

An argument developed to respond to a thesis or a line of reasoning already advanced.

A brief syntactic element placed at the end of a line and tightly bound to the syntax carried over into the next.

An infringement of protected intellectual property rights, whose conditions are defined by law.

Arrangement of successive rhymes following the AABB pattern.

A set of medieval forms staging elaborate codes of amorous relation and social conduct.

A medieval narrative exploring chivalric adventures, amorous codes, and aristocratic ideals.

A brief message sent with a manuscript to present the project and approach to a professional addressee.

The price displayed for the sale of a book, subject to rules applicable to the territory and sales channel.

A mystery subgenre generally favoring a familiar setting and little explicit violence, often around an amateur investigation.

Regular notes retracing the stages, hesitations, and decisions of an artistic work.

A family of public licenses offering standardized reuse conditions; their variants do not all grant the same freedoms.

The set of notes and indications justifying an established text, its variants, sources, or editorial interpretations.

The publication of a text established after examination of available witnesses and accompanied by an apparatus justifying the choices made.

A text that examines and discusses a work, an idea, or a phenomenon while developing an argued position.

A practice that interrogates writing choices, presuppositions, and the construction of meaning rather than passively receiving the text.

The successive arrangement of distinct lines of action to bring out parallels, contrasts, or simultaneities.

Arrangement of alternating rhymes following the ABAB pattern.

A persistent digital identifier assigned to certain resources, especially frequent for scholarly articles and objects.

A technical measure limiting certain uses of a file or its access, distinct from the legal rights applicable to the work.

A movement born during the First World War, grounded in provocation and the contestation of artistic and social conventions.

A romance category featuring potentially violent or transgressive relationships; it does not guarantee a critical treatment.

A late-nineteenth-century literary sensibility associated with artifice, refinement, and the awareness of a world in crisis.

A ten-syllable metrical line, used in many ancient and modern forms.

Reasoning that draws a conclusion from premises according to a logical relation, without guaranteeing the truth of the premises.

The state of the text the author or editor considers ready for the planned step; a publication may still be corrected.

A word whose referent depends on the situation of utterance, such as 'here,' 'tomorrow,' or 'I.'

The conventional or descriptive meaning of a word, considered independently of its particular affective associations.

A verbal representation of a place, object, person, or atmosphere, capable of serving action and themes.

A moment in which the narrative suspends the progression of events to develop a description or commentary.

What a character consciously seeks to obtain, liable to conflict with a deeper need.

A document breaking down the work into chapters, scenes, or arguments before or during writing.

Fiction structured around an offense, an investigation, or a criminal mystery; the place of the investigation varies.

A sudden solution arising from an insufficiently prepared intervention, whose effect may strike the reader as artificial.

A professional who intervenes on the content and structure of a manuscript to help it reach its project.

An exchange of speech between two or more interlocutors, whose meaning also depends on what they keep silent or avoid.

A short clarification inserted into a line, generally indicating who is speaking or how the words are uttered.

The spatiotemporal universe of the represented events, including everything that exists in the world of the story.

Pronunciation of a vowel sequence as two metrical syllables when it could be pronounced as one in other usage.

Creation whose form, circulation, or interactions depend significantly on digital devices.

The marking of a file with information enabling identification or traceability according to the chosen solution.

A development that temporarily departs from the main subject to clarify, comment on, or contrast it.

A situation imposing a choice between options with difficult, incompatible, or morally ambiguous consequences.

Reproduction presented as the very words of a character, often signaled by quotation marks or dashes.

Spoken or written utterances produced within a text; in analysis, the term can also designate a socially situated organization of language.

The return of a formula in a prose text or utterance, capable of organizing insistence and echoes.

A construction detaching a constituent taken up by a pronoun, as in 'this book, I finished it.'

A stanza composed of two lines.

A company principally handling storage, order processing, delivery, and logistics flows of books.

A company in charge of presenting and promoting books commercially with points of sale.

Writing based on verifiable facts and constructed by narrative choices, without authorizing invention presented as factual; close to 'narrative non-fiction.'

The research and gathering of sources needed to build a credible subject, milieu, or period.

A situation in which lines are addressed to characters on stage while simultaneously conveying information to the audience.

A presentation of the situation and action of a work, particularly used for theatrical and dramatic works.

The initial laying out of circumstances, characters, and stakes that makes the action intelligible.

The set of obstacles and contradictions that complicate the action and require a resolution.

A transformation or awareness required for a character's journey in certain writing models, without being universal.

The organization of actions, tensions, and forms of a work intended for the stage; the term also names reflection on their construction.

A removable printed wrapper that protects and often dresses a bound book.

Description that accompanies a movement, transformation, or progressive exploration of a space.

A representation of an oppressive or dysfunctional society, designed to expose political or social drift.

A publication intended for reading on screen by means of a file or adapted consultation service.

A device or application designed to display e-books and offer consultation settings.

A standardized e-book format based on web technologies, capable of presenting reflowable text or fixed layout.

Rights allowing authorization or prohibition of certain economic exploitations of a work, within legal limits and durations.

The set of edges of a book's leaves, distinct from the spine; may be decorated or colored.

A text expressing the orientation or point of view of a media outlet or its author on a current topic.

The design of a publication usable by people with varied needs, notably visual, motor, or cognitive.

A professional who follows the preparation of texts and the coordination of contributors up to production.

The set of works published or offered by a publishing house and organized according to its policy.

A series of publications grouped under a common visual or intellectual identity within a catalog.

The removal of a passage to correct length, imbalance, or redundancy.

A professional designing the visual identity of a book or set of publications.

A manager who helps define the line of a catalog and selects or supports projects.

Argued observations formulated on a manuscript to help decide on modifications or publication.

The set of artistic, thematic, and commercial criteria guiding the selection and presentation of a catalog.

A professional coordinating the preparation of publications and the interactions between authors and teams.

A text providing information on the establishment, context, or particularities of a work's edition.

A set of documents presenting a book project, its stakes, content, and characteristics.

Work on the text before publication, potentially covering language, coherence, and conformity to an editorial line.

A decision not to publish a manuscript, which is not an objective measure of its literary value.

A condensed presentation of the content and stakes of a work intended to facilitate its examination by a professional.

A poem associated with lament, mourning, or melancholy; the term has also named an ancient meter.

A story told within a first narrative, often by a character who becomes a narrator.

Arrangement of rhymes following the ABBA pattern.

A highly visible display space in a point of sale, used to feature certain books.

A sheet connecting or protecting the block of pages and the cover of a bound book.

The running over of a syntactic unit past the end of one line into the next.

An eighteenth-century intellectual movement debating reason, knowledge, authority, and progress, without constituting a single doctrine.

The successive presentation of elements belonging to a single set; it does not necessarily imply amplification.

The act of producing an utterance and the set of markers that indicate who speaks, to whom, where, and when.

Repetition of the same term at the beginning and end of a syntactic or metrical unit.

Repetition of a word after an interval, sometimes immediately, to give it particular intensity; classifications vary.

A long narrative celebrating collective or heroic actions and their symbolic resonance, often in an elevated style.

An amplification of actions presented as exceptional or collectively important, through rhythm and imagery.

A quotation or formula placed at the head of a work or part to suggest a theme or tone.

A final part situated after the main resolution, often showing consequences or another state of the world.

Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive segments.

A novel composed chiefly of letters, messages, or exchanged documents whose succession constructs the points of view.

The relation between a proper name and the common noun or designation derived from it; it can feed antonomasia.

A rectification noting errors spotted after the production or publication of a work.

A text that freely explores a question or position through argumentative method without requiring the form of a treatise.

A portrait emphasizing the moral qualities, habits, and character of a person or character.

The self-image constructed by a person arguing in order to establish credibility with an audience.

A softened formulation of a reality judged painful, shocking, or socially difficult to express.

A mark placed in a book to indicate its owner, often in the form of a label or formula.

The last words or final passage of a work, which may close, extend, or call into question the meaning of the narrative.

An enunciative form marking an affective or evaluative reaction; its literary weight depends on context.

A clause reserving a given exploitation to a beneficiary, according to agreed limits and conditions.

A philosophical and literary current interrogating freedom, responsibility, and the human condition, particularly influential in the twentieth century.

The beginning of a speech designed to introduce the subject and prepare the audience's attention.

A method of discovering the work by writing without necessarily knowing its full plan.

A sequence conveying necessary information about context, characters, or the rules of the world.

The use of punctuation marks to inflect rhythm and interpretation, beyond mere syntactic correctness.

The development of a single metaphor across several related words, clauses, or passages.

Presentation limited principally to observable facts, without direct access to the characters' thoughts.

A narrative instance situated at the first level of narration, as opposed to one that tells an embedded story.

A brief exemplary tale, frequently with animal characters, organized around an explicit or implicit lesson known as the moral.

A brief medieval verse tale often comic or satirical, attached to ruses and reversals of situation.

A reproduction aiming to preserve faithfully the appearance of an original document, without substituting for its material status.

The verification of the claims of a text using relevant and independent sources wherever possible.

An error of reasoning committed without necessary intent to deceive, as opposed to certain uses of 'sophism.'

A level of language marked by closeness, relaxed turns of phrase, and socially situated usages.

A story created by a fan community from existing characters, worlds, or works, under varying legal conditions.

A narrative mode classically founded on the unsettling irruption of the inexplicable within a setting perceived as familiar.

An effect of unease or hesitation in the face of an event that troubles the familiar laws of the represented world.

Fiction that welcomes supernatural or magical elements within a world with its own rules, whether wholly invented or not.

An independent publication by enthusiasts, generally produced and distributed outside dominant industrial circuits.

A comic form that emphasizes physical situations, deceptions, and immediate effects.

In the French tradition, a rhyme ending graphically in a schwa, possibly followed by s or nt.

A story released in successive installments, often designed with cliffhangers to encourage continued reading.

The construction of an imagined world and events, even when the work incorporates elements drawn from reality.

An epistolary document integrated into a fiction to deliver information or give voice to a particular speaker.

A world invented or recomposed in which the characters and events are presented as possible.

Direct observation of an environment or meeting with people in order to feed a writing project.

An identifiable device playing on the form or meaning of words and utterances to produce an effect on the reader.

Validation given to launch a print run on the basis of proofs judged correct.

The first continuous version of a text, still open to cuts, rearrangements, and deep changes.

A narrative using notably 'I' to designate the narrating instance, without imposing any particular degree of reliability.

An e-book whose element layout remains defined page by page, notably for illustrated works.

Folded extensions of the cover or dust jacket, which may carry presentation texts.

A common expression for a return to the past of the narrative; in narratology the term is analepsis.

A lasting vulnerability or contradiction that influences a character's choices and can fuel their conflicts.

The organization of narrative information according to a perceptual or cognitive focal point, distinct from grammatical person.

A printed page number; the word can also denote a leaf in manuscript descriptions.

A comment or reference placed at the bottom of a page and linked to a marker in the body of the text.

The discreet planting of an image, gesture, or detail that will prepare a later development.

A level of language associated with formal situations and with a careful lexicon or constructions.

A convention imagining an invisible separation between the stage space and the audience, which some productions deliberately break.

A relatively autonomous textual unit, sometimes deliberately unfinished, that may belong to a discontinuous composition.

The body of works written in French in varied cultural contexts; its institutional scope can be debated.

Integration of a character's words or thoughts into narration without explicit subordination, producing a blending of voices.

Verse that does not systematically respect a fixed meter or rhyme while keeping a poetic lineation.

An exercise consisting in writing without interruption or self-censorship for a given period in order to bring ideas to light.

The outer front face of a book, often composed of the title, author's name, and graphic elements.

An approach that reconstructs stages of creation by studying notably manuscripts, plans, erasures, and successive states.

A traditional designation for a writer working on behalf of another; 'ghostwriter' is generally preferred today.

A person writing a text intended to appear under another name or in collaboration, by prior agreement.

A set of definitions of specialized terms used in a work or field.

A fictional tradition associating unsettling atmospheres, places steeped in history, secrets, and forms of threat.

A series of elements ordered by increasing or decreasing intensity.

Omission of a syntactic element recoverable from context; it does not necessarily designate a temporal leap.

The shifting organization of power relations, alliances, and tensions among several characters.

The space reserved near the binding or between columns to preserve reading comfort.

A short Japanese poem grounded in a cutting word and suggestion, traditionally tied to a season; its Western adaptations vary.

The page preceding the title page, generally bearing only the abbreviated title of the work.

A crime narrative that often privileges social violence, moral ambiguity, and a critical view of institutions.

A book or cover using rigid board, common notably in illustrated and children's books.

A book fitted with a binding and often a rigid cover; commercial terminology may vary.

Half of a line composed of two segments, notably each of the two traditional halves of a classical alexandrine.

An eleven-syllable metrical line, less common in the French tradition than in certain neighboring ones.

Reflection on the conditions and methods of understanding and interpreting texts.

A narrator absent as a character from the world of the events told.

A six-syllable metrical line, usable alone or alternating with other meters.

Fiction whose plot is set in a reconstructed past, combining documentary research with narrative invention.

A narrator present as a character in the world of the events he or she tells.

A relation between words identical in sound or writing but distinct in meaning and sometimes in origin.

The set of habits, norms, and knowledge that the reader brings to a work in a given context.

A Renaissance intellectual movement valuing the critical study of ancient texts, languages, and the education of the human being.

A way of producing comic effect, often grounded in discrepancy, surprise, or detachment.

A commercial designation with diverse practices mixing services and publishing; actual obligations depend on the signed contract.

The grammatical attribution to a word of a quality expected of another term in the utterance.

An addition or prolongation after a sentence that seemed complete, producing an expressive relaunching.

Deliberate exaggeration of a fact or characteristic in order to produce a strong impression.

Digital fiction organized through links and non-linear paths, whose structure may vary with consultation choices.

The organization of clauses in subordination relations that hierarchize information.

A particularly vivid description that gives the reader the impression of witnessing the represented scene.

The international standard identifier of an edition or book format; it proves neither intellectual property nor literary quality.

The international standard identifier for serial publications, notably journals, distinct from the ISBN for monographs.

The set of linguistic traits characteristic of a particular speaker or character.

An artist producing images to accompany, interpret, or enrich a text or publication.

The organization of sounds aimed at evoking a represented phenomenon; the effect depends on the language and the reader.

An opening that plunges directly into an action already underway, before any explanation of antecedents.

The opening words or beginning of a work, where voice, world, and narrative expectations may be set up.

An event or change that breaks a situation and triggers a new dynamic in the plot.

A work printed in the early days of European printing, conventionally before 1 January 1501.

A list of names or notions accompanied by references enabling them to be located in a publication.

Reformulation of a character's words or thoughts in the syntax of narration, with possible adjustments of tense and pronouns.

Reasoning proposing a generalization from observed cases, whose conclusion remains revisable.

A block of explanations too concentrated for the narrative movement, whose appraisal depends on context.

The number of copies initially sent to points of sale when a title is released.

The state of the world and the characters before the event that upsets their narrative equilibrium.

A hand-written dedication offered on a copy; it can also designate the homage placed by the author in their work.

The inner face of the back cover of a book.

The inner face of the front cover of a book.

A document setting out the stakes, approach, and choices envisaged for a writing or adaptation project.

A narrative offering the reader choices or actions that modify the order or content of their reading.

A developed presentation of a character's thoughts, organized as a more or less structured interior discourse.

A passage inserted between main sets to offer a change of rhythm, voice, or perspective.

An element placed between two parts, frequent in certain theatrical and musical forms, sometimes transposed into literature.

The compatibility of events, motivations, and rules of a text with information already established.

Presentation filtering information through a character's perception or knowledge, possibly varying across passages.

A proposed meaning constructed from textual clues, a context, and a reading approach.

The relations by which a text borrows from, quotes, transforms, or evokes other texts, whether explicitly or not.

A prepared or spontaneous exchange intended to gather the words and point of view of a person on a topic.

A textual object belonging to the fictional universe, such as a journal, a report, or a message consulted by the characters.

A character of a first narrative who in turn takes the floor to tell a second story.

The first part presenting the question, approach, and sometimes the organization of an argumentative or documentary text.

A modification of the expected syntactic order of words to foreground a term or respect a rhythm.

The gap between what is said and what a context leads one to understand, often to criticize or create distance.

Narration telling once what happened many times, as a habit.

A text presenting a person on the basis of facts, observations, and testimony, with a documentary restitution project.

The alignment of lines on both margins of a text block through spacing adjustments.

The adjustment of space between characters, overall or local, which influences the visual balance of a word.

The adjustment of space between certain pairs of characters to correct visual gaps.

A sequence of often assonanced or rhymed lines constituting a unit in certain medieval epics.

A level of usage linked to situations and social groups, to be distinguished from literary tone.

A commercial designation for an edition of generally larger dimensions than a paperback, without a single norm.

A professional who organizes the visual arrangement of text and images within the pages of a book.

A layout template specifying notably formats, margins, title styles, and image placement.

The vertical distance between lines of text, chosen for readability and page density.

A unit of support with two sides, called recto and verso.

The obligation to submit certain publications to designated bodies in order to constitute and preserve the documentary heritage.

A story circulated around a figure or place, mixing possible historical elements with imaginary transformations.

A set of words in a text associated with a single domain of meaning, without necessarily belonging to one morphological family.

A professional who organizes documentary collections and services and supports access to resources.

Speech attributed to a character in a dramatic exchange.

The debated set of properties or conventions that lead a text to be considered literary rather than merely informational.

A professional representing authors with publishers or other partners, under a mandate and contractual terms.

An argued study of the forms and meanings of a text on the basis of explicit clues and methods.

A preserved set of manuscripts, correspondence, notes, and documents that illuminate the creation or reception of a writer.

The body of works regarded as major by certain institutions or traditions; its composition is regularly revised and debated.

A system for selecting works according to rules and a jury, with variable aims and rewards.

A person who analyzes and evaluates works publicly according to a journalistic, academic, or essayistic approach.

A speculative subgenre combining advanced technologies, economic powers, and characters confronting unequal societies.

An argued development responding to a question on works, genres, or literary ideas.

A family of texts characterized by shifting conventions of form, intent, and reception, such as the novel or drama.

Fiction aiming to evoke dread, unease, or terror through its situations, images, and uncertainties.

A stylistic orientation privileging economy of means, spare sentences, and a strong place for the implicit.

An international set of formal renewals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, opposed to inherited conventions.

A critical label covering notably fragmentation, quotation, genre play, and the interrogation of grand narratives, without a single definition.

An award given to a work or author according to rules and the choices of a jury or public.

An identifiable borrowing of a passage from another author; its legality depends notably on context, source, and applicable rules.

The way a work is read, commented on, and interpreted by different publics over time.

The dominant tone and effects of a passage, for example comic or tragic; several registers may coexist within a work.

An account enriched by investigation and observation, using crafted writing while maintaining factual rigor.

A set of books linked by a recurring concept, character, or world, sometimes readable independently.

A schematic representation of a succession of scenes, sometimes as cards or tables, before writing.

A motif or conventional situation transmitted by a tradition and taken up, transformed, or subverted by later works.

A professional who recreates a work in another language by working on meaning, style, references, and rhythm.

Choices of presentation of signs and characters that contribute to readability and sometimes to a text's meaning.

A verbal creation designed to be read, spoken, or performed, whose meaning and form participate in an expressive project.

The body of works and writing practices recognized as literary according to criteria that vary across cultures and eras.

A restrained formulation that lets be understood more than is literally stated, such as 'not bad.'

A word or element integrated into a language from another, with variable adaptation of form or meaning.

A word or expression making explicit a relation between clauses, such as cause, consequence, opposition, or concession.

A condensed formulation of a story, generally centered on a protagonist, an objective, and a major obstacle.

The argumentative dimension grounded in the reasons advanced and their organization, in the classical rhetorical tradition.

A book whose sales remain steady over a long period, without depending on a particularly massive launch.

The body of knowledge internal to a fictional universe: history, myths, institutions, and continuity details.

The accentuated expression of subjectivity, feelings, or emotions, not limited to poetry.

An older e-book format associated notably with the first Kindle readers; its uses are now limited.

An object or goal that motivates the characters and sets the action in motion, without its precise nature always being essential to the story.

A narrative mode integrating extraordinary events into an everyday frame without necessarily posing them as an explanatory problem.

The structuring objective of the plot, particularly common in adventure and fantasy narratives.

The text of a work in a state preceding publication, whether hand-written or produced digitally.

An analysis of the content and form of a text aimed at identifying its qualities, problems, and possibilities for development.

A representative portion of a text, provided for an application, presentation, or first reading.

A mode in which supernatural events are accepted as possible within the world of the story.

A rhyme that does not fall into the traditional category of feminine rhymes.

A concise proposition formulating a general rule of conduct or an observation on behavior.

A dramatic piece with often allegorical characters conveying a moral or spiritual teaching.

A large medieval religious theatrical form representing biblical episodes or lives of saints.

An autobiographical account that privileges testimony about an era, a milieu, or collective events.

The designation of one reality by another on the basis of an implicit analogy, without an explicit comparative tool.

The conventional measure of a line, notably by the number of syllables in the French tradition.

The designation of one reality by another linked to it, such as the container for the contained.

A rhythmic or accentual articulation within a line, distinct from the caesura when it has no fixed position.

A unit counted according to versification conventions, which may differ from everyday pronunciation.

The study of the measurable and rhythmic organization of verse; its principles differ from one poetic tradition to another.

A publishing activity conducted on a small scale, often with limited means and specific production choices.

An extremely brief narrative that nonetheless constructs a narrative situation, often through ellipsis and suggestion.

A diagram visually linking ideas around a central node, useful for exploring themes and relations.

The inclusion within a work of a reduced or mirror representation of that work, its structure, or its creative gesture.

Markers by which a speaker indicates doubt, certainty, appraisal, or distance toward their utterance.

A developed study devoted to a precisely delimited subject, such as a work, an author, or a movement.

Prerogatives attached to the person of the author, notably concerning their name and the integrity of the work, according to applicable law.

The study of the internal structure of words and their variations, such as gender or tense markers.

A recognizable element that recurs in a work or tradition, such as the double, the journey, or a closed door.

The personal, emotional, or social reason that drives a character to act, sometimes unbeknownst to them.

Missing information that raises a question in the reader and organizes the search for an answer.

A traditional narrative that gives meaning to origins, forces, or values within a cultural community.

The addressee to whom the narrator speaks within the narrative situation, whether explicit or implicit.

The act and manner of telling a story, including the narrative instance, choices of voice, and arrangement of events.

The organized presentation of real or fictional events, distinct from the events themselves and from the act that tells them.

The compression of many events or a long duration into a small textual space.

Information turned toward the future of a story; when it actually narrates a later event, the term is more precisely prolepsis.

A coherent set of developments linking an opening situation to a transformation or resolution.

A very brief unit of change or reaction within a scene, sometimes called a 'beat' in writing methods.

A detail whose significance may prove decisive during an investigation or in a later revelation.

The relation between the number of times an event occurs in the story and the number of times it is told.

An investigation whose steps, sources, and discoveries are organized as a reading journey.

A representation of the places in a fictional world, useful for maintaining consistent distances, movements, and spatial relations.

An apparent crossing between narrative levels, for instance when a narrator intervenes in the world being told.

The result a character seeks to attain and which guides their choices in the story.

The anticipated organization of the main stages of a narrative, of its whole or of certain sequences.

The final part that shows the consequences of the resolution and the state in which the story leaves the characters.

A segment in which the time of the narrative appears close to the time of the events, especially in detailed dialogue.

An analytical model distinguishing functions such as initial situation, disruption, peripeteias, and resolution; it is not universal.

A set of scenes or events linked by a continuity of action, time, or function.

An absence of speech or information represented as significant, sometimes more expressive than a direct response.

A passage that condenses a relatively long stretch of story time into little text, without taking up every event.

An effect of anticipation created by uncertainty over the outcome of an action, revelation, or danger.

The textual extent and organization devoted to the events; comparison with the story reveals variations in pace.

The manner and position from which narration is uttered, notably regarding the narrator's relation to the story.

The study of the structures and modes of narrative, such as time, voice, narrative levels, and focalization.

The instance that tells the events in a narrative, constructed by the text and distinct from its real author.

An aesthetic project associated with documented observation of milieus and with the study of determinisms in fiction.

A word, sense, or construction newly created or recently integrated into a language.

A set of linked motifs whose repetitions and transformations contribute to the symbolic organization of the work.

A heterogeneous set of post-war French writings challenging several conventions of character and plot.

An editorial category often centered on the transition to adulthood, first independences, and intimate relationships.

A distinct publication of a work possibly modifying its content, presentation, or editorial apparatus.

An editorial category of texts dealing primarily with facts, testimony, knowledge, or reflection, without excluding narrative craft.

A composition that disrupts chronological order through alternation of periods, analepses, or fragments.

A work or copy not intended for regular sale, according to a given bibliographic or contractual use.

A prefatory text specifying the choices, limits, or conventions needed to approach a publication.

A generally extended work of fiction, in prose in contemporary usage, whose conventions and length remain variable.

A group of works linked by a shared world, characters, or overall project, without necessarily forming a linear series.

A work of fiction intermediate in length between the short story and the novel; thresholds and editorial status vary by tradition.

A difficulty or counter-argument raised against a proposition or a line of reasoning.

A force or circumstance that thwarts an objective and obliges the character to react.

An eight-syllable metrical line, frequent notably in French narrative and lyric poetry.

A lyric poem celebrating a person, an idea, or an event, in variable arrangements.

An element that suggests or announces a future event without necessarily stating it explicitly.

A common designation for a narration knowing thoughts and facts beyond a single character; a notion close to zero focalization.

A word or sequence of sounds conventionally evoking a noise, such as 'boom' or 'tick-tock.'

A conclusion that deliberately leaves several consequences, interpretations, or futures undetermined.

The initial part of a text that establishes an orientation, situation, or writing approach.

The first developed sequence giving access to a world, character, or conflict and setting certain reading expectations.

A public text setting out an argued position on a collective question, under the responsibility of its signatory.

The body of works transmitted by voice, performance, and memory, before or independently of their written fixation.

The collective transmission of narratives, knowledge, and poetic forms through speech and listening, with possible variations.

The set of traits giving an impression of vivid speech, without necessarily faithfully reproducing spoken language.

The arrangement of events in the text, which may follow, reorganize, or interrupt their chronology.

A usual level of language suited to many everyday situations, without particular familiarity or solemnity.

An analysis organized along several interpretive axes rather than following only the sequence of lines.

A literary research group created in 1960 that explores formal constraints as engines of invention.

The status of a book of which no copies are available from its publisher or distributor, without meaning the rights are free.

A close association of terms whose meanings seem incompatible, such as 'obscure clarity.'

A document format preserving the visual layout of pages; its readability on small screens depends notably on tagging and format.

A face of a leaf or a unit of digital presentation depending on the interface used.

The numbering and organization of the pages of a book, sometimes including unnumbered parts.

A manuscript support reused after partial or complete erasure of a first text, sometimes still perceptible.

A brief and offensive polemical text aimed at attacking an idea, a behavior, or a public target.

A book whose gatherings or leaves are assembled in a soft cover by gluing or stitching depending on production.

A brief figurative narrative used to convey a moral, spiritual, or philosophical idea.

A statement that contradicts common opinion or appears contradictory in order to provoke reflection.

A device consisting in declaring that one will not speak of a subject while making it appear.

Repetition of a syntactic structure across several segments to make their relation perceptible.

A faithful reformulation of an idea or passage in new words, which does not dispense with citing the source used.

The juxtaposition or coordination of clauses without strongly marked syntactic hierarchy.

Elements that accompany and guide access to the work, such as title, preface, cover, notes, or interviews.

A nineteenth-century poetic movement attached to formal craft, claimed impersonality, and the autonomy of art.

A transforming imitation of a work, style, or genre, designed to produce a comic discrepancy.

The bringing together of words of similar sounds but different meanings, creating association or contrast.

A resemblance of form between two different words, liable to foster confusions or stylistic plays.

A large-scale division grouping several chapters or segments around a common movement.

A recognizable imitation of stylistic devices, not necessarily aimed at mockery.

An effect intended to arouse compassion or pity in the face of represented suffering.

The resources of discourse intended to appeal to the emotions of the addressee in a persuasive situation.

A developed sentence whose syntax often delays completion to produce an effect of suspense or surprise.

An event that bends the course of the action and changes the possibilities open to the characters.

A multi-word expression used in place of a more direct term in order to refine or transform the representation.

The conclusion of a rhetorical speech that gathers the arguments and often seeks to produce a final impression.

A text that explores a question through experience, reading, and subjective reflection, without claiming scientific exhaustiveness.

The attribution to a thing, idea, or animal of characteristics or behaviors properly human.

The historical and critical study of texts, their language, their transmission, and the establishment of their versions.

A brief fiction that puts situations and characters at the service of critical reflection on ideas or institutions.

Fiction following the adventures of a marginal and mobile character who discovers the failings of different social milieus.

A very brief presentation of a project that foregrounds its situation, stakes, and what sets it apart.

A sequence whose outcome durably changes the direction of the plot or the relations among characters.

Unacknowledged appropriation of another's creation or formulation; its legal qualification depends on the facts and applicable law.

A method in which a working structure precedes a substantial part of the writing.

A dramatic work organized into lines and stage actions, which can be read independently of its performance.

Redundancy of meaning within an expression; it may be inadvertent or deliberately expressive.

The organization of actions and conflicts that advance a story, beyond the mere chronological sequence of events.

A surprising reversal that reconfigures the situation or interpretation of the story; also called a coup de théâtre in some contexts.

A group of sixteenth-century French poets associated with the renewal and enrichment of poetry in the French language.

An edition of reduced dimensions and often more affordable, frequently published after a first edition.

A poetic work built through rhythm, imagery, arrangement, or other resources of language, with or without regular verse.

An association of words or perceptions producing a sensitive or unexpected representation, often beyond literal meaning.

The study of the principles of construction and of the forms of works, distinct from poetry alone.

A common expression covering several questions; analysis distinguishes notably who tells and who perceives.

Writing oriented toward the confrontation of ideas and the forceful refutation of an adversary.

Repetition of the same word in different grammatical or inflectional forms, such as tense or number.

The property of a word having several related meanings within a single language.

The deliberate multiplication of coordinating links, producing an effect of insistence or accumulation.

A rhyme sharing only a single phoneme from the last stressed vowel onward.

The practice of transmitting specialized knowledge to a non-expert audience without distorting its essential principles.

A creation obtained by the partial fusion of several words, generally to combine their meanings.

A description of a character, physical, moral, or social, that helps fix or unsettle the reader's image of them.

A field of works and studies interrogating colonial legacies, languages, identities, and relations of domination.

A text placed after the work to comment on it or shed light on its context, possibly by someone other than the author.

The study of what utterances accomplish in a situation and of how context influences their meaning.

An order recorded before the expected availability date of an edition.

A text placed before the work proposing a frame of reading, written by the author or by another person.

An introductory text that sets out the genesis, aim, or circumstances of a work, without necessarily corresponding to a preface.

The starting proposition that combines a situation, character, or conflict and serves as the engine of a narrative project.

A description intended to make the project understood or to make readers want to discover a book, depending on its audience.

A copy or access provided to a media outlet, journalist, or critic to support the presentation of a book.

A professional who organizes media relations to support the visibility of authors and books.

A document or testimony directly linked to the facts, events, or creations studied, whose interpretation requires critical examination.

The number of copies produced in a printing operation; not equal to the number sold.

A statement indicating the completion of a print run and, depending on practice, information about its production.

A set of pages printed on a sheet, folded, then assembled in the making of a book.

A professional or company producing printed copies from files or production forms.

Dated and generally discontinuous writing in which a person records thoughts, experiences, and observations over time.

A publishing professional who follows the material characteristics, quotes, printing, and finishing of books.

A narrative anticipation that relates or evokes a later event from the point where the narrative stands.

A passage placed before the main development to introduce a context, a voice, or earlier events.

An element presented as establishing a claim according to criteria that depend on the field and the type of reasoning.

A provisional version intended to check composed text or layout before definitive distribution or production.

The set of pages or files submitted for verification before editorial and technical validation.

A professional in charge of detecting and correcting linguistic or typographical errors within an agreed framework.

A new reading of a text intended to assess, verify, or improve its state according to a given objective.

A form of expression not organized into regular verse; it may nonetheless exhibit rhythm and a strong sonic design.

Poetic writing without metrical division into lines, drawing notably on the rhythm of sentences and on imagery.

The study of rhythm, accents, durations, and intonation; in poetry it helps grasp sonic organization.

A description of the physical traits of a person or character, to be distinguished from ethopoeia.

A device that makes the dead, the absent, an abstraction, or a being normally deprived of speech speak.

Narration projected toward events to come, to be distinguished from the simple prolepsis that anticipates from an already engaged narrative.

The character or force occupying a central place in the development of an action; not always morally exemplary.

Seventeenth-century social and literary practices characterized by a search for refinement in language and relationships.

A novel that grants a determining place to the inner life and motivations of its characters.

The situation of a work whose economic rights have expired or do not apply, subject to other possible rights.

The making available of a work to a public, in printed, digital, or other forms.

A person or structure that decides to publish a work, oversees its preparation, and organizes its exploitation according to a given model.

A model in which the publisher bears the cost of publication and assumes the main economic risk.

Under French law, a contract in which the author assigns defined rights to a publisher required to ensure publication and distribution of the work.

A structure that selects or commissions works and organizes their editorial work, production, and publication.

A play on words grounded in phonetic or lexical ambiguity, often with a humorous effect.

A stanza composed of four lines.

A stanza composed of five lines.

A misunderstanding in which characters assign different meanings to the same situation or words.

A person examining a text to detect problems or improvements, with a mission that varies by context.

A group that examines manuscripts or projects and formulates an opinion on their interest for an editorial structure.

The set of expectations proposed by a text and its paratext on how to understand its status and conventions.

A document presenting the characteristics and evaluation of a manuscript to guide an editorial decision.

A literary tendency attentive to the representation of milieus and social mechanisms, beyond idealization.

The first side of a leaf, generally placed on the right in an open Western book.

A question or image of meaning recurring across several passages or works of the same corpus.

Information or an event designed to temporarily steer the reader's interpretation toward a wrong hypothesis.

Repetition of information already given, possibly used for clarity or emphasis.

An e-book whose text and layout adapt to screen size and reading preferences.

A sequence of words or lines repeated at intervals in a poem or song.

The procedure of contesting an argument, an inference, or an opposing thesis.

The representation of a person or abstraction as a thing, in order to underline a relation or a dispossession.

A brief syntactic element placed at the beginning of the following line, after an enjambment, to give it particular relief.

The date or event corresponding to the launch of a book in a given edition.

Narration that relates the same event several times, possibly from different perspectives.

A new order of books intended to rebuild stock after a sale or expected demand.

A new print run of an edition without substantial modification of its editorial content.

The phase in which a central conflict or question receives an answer, even if partial or ambiguous.

A retrospective modification of a fictional continuity to enable new developments, with or without in-story explanation.

Narration dealing with events past relative to the moment when the narrator reports them.

New information that alters the understanding of events, characters, or stakes.

The resumption of a text aiming to modify its structure, style, or content rather than merely correcting mistakes.

The art and analysis of the means of persuading or producing effects through speech and writing, in varied historical traditions.

A direct address to a being who is present, absent, or abstract within a speech or text.

A question posed without expecting a real answer, used to assert an idea indirectly or provoke a reaction.

Sound correspondence at the end of two or more lines, evaluated from the last stressed vowel and the sounds that follow.

A rhyme carrying at least three shared phonemes in the traditional classification, without guaranteeing aesthetic quality.

A prerogative concerning the communication of the work to the public by a process, notably a reading or a broadcast.

A prerogative concerning the material or digital fixation of a work on a medium, subject to statutory exceptions.

An agreement transferring or authorizing certain exploitation rights according to conditions and a scope to be specified.

A genre in which the amorous relation constitutes the central axis of the plot and of the reader's expectation.

An editorial category strongly combining romantic plot with fantasy universes or elements, in variable proportions.

A nineteenth-century movement valuing notably subjectivity, imagination, formal freedom, history, and an intense relation to nature.

A fixed form with a refrain, developed in medieval and Renaissance French poetry.

A sum paid to the rights holder in return for an exploitation, often calculated on a contractual basis.

The reference amount on which royalties are calculated, for example a price or contractually defined revenues.

The percentage or modality applied to a defined calculation basis to remunerate certain exploitations.

An ample narrative ensemble following a family, group, or world across several installments or generations; the editorial sense is flexible.

A form of critical expression that turns manners or institutions into derision through various comic devices.

Devices of mockery and criticism aimed at behaviors, institutions, or ideas.

A change in the placement of a sequence to alter the unfolding, information, or rhythm of the narrative.

A final vowel whose counting depends on metrical rules and on phonetic context in traditional French versification.

Fiction that explores the consequences of scientific, technical, or social transformations based on imagined hypotheses.

A narrative that makes 'you' a structuring address, whether to the reader or to a constructed character.

A figure less central than the protagonist, but capable of playing a decisive role in the plot or theme.

An analysis or synthesis built from primary sources and other works, with variable distance according to disciplines.

A subdivision of a text that may correspond to a thematic or argumentative set.

Publication organized by the author themselves, directly or with providers, retaining the principal editorial responsibility.

The set of meanings or uses of a word; in some usages, a broader expression grouping related notions.

The study of the meaning of words, phrases, and utterances according to their linguistic properties.

Targeted proofreading of the representation of experiences or identities, conducted with people who have relevant experience.

A deliberately incomplete syntactic segment, used to produce rupture or reproduce a perception.

The organization of lengths, pauses, accents, and sonic returns that produces the cadence of a prose.

The set of relations between verb tenses of linked clauses, according to chronology, mood, and point of view.

The distribution of events or arguments into successive units to verify their coherence.

A reference document setting out the characters, world, narrative principles, and continuity of a serial project.

A stanza composed of six lines.

A relatively brief work of fiction, often focused on a single situation, conflict, or limited cast of characters.

A writing principle inviting writers to let information be felt through actions or details rather than explained; exceptions exist.

A concrete element chosen because it informs a character, an atmosphere, a relationship, or a future action.

An explicit comparison between two realities through a comparative tool such as 'like,' 'as,' or 'such as.'

Narration presented as contemporary with the events told, sometimes sustained by the present tense.

A French system regulating the sale price of books according to specific rules and exceptions.

Narration reporting once an event that occurred once, in the classical narratological typology.

A device that devotes significant textual development to a brief event in order to intensify its perception.

A novel that centrally represents the structures, conflicts, and conditions of a social milieu.

A variety of linguistic usage associated with a social, professional, or cultural group.

A speculative imaginary exploring ecological futures, sustainable technologies, and forms of social cooperation.

A fixed form generally of fourteen lines distributed into two quatrains and two tercets in the French tradition.

A misleading or invalid line of reasoning that may appear convincing, by error or persuasive intent.

The places and period in which the action unfolds, to be distinguished from the atmosphere produced by their representation.

A verbal or typographical marker that helps identify the speaker in a dialogue.

Verification of lexical and grammatical spelling without claiming to resolve all problems of meaning or style.

The edge of the binding where the title and author's name often appear, not to be confused with the back cover.

An indication inserted into a dramatic text to guide its reading or performance, normally not part of the characters' speech.

The important consequence of success or failure in an action, giving weight to the conflict.

A system of periodic supply of new titles to booksellers according to negotiated criteria or commitments.

A group of lines constituting a graphic and often rhythmic unit in a poem.

An initial intuition liable to become a story, an image, a question, or a form to explore.

Communication by the operator of exploitation data and sums owed, according to legal and contractual obligations.

Description that momentarily suspends the progression of events to fix a state or configuration.

A simplified and fixed characterization that reproduces ready-made representations of a group or human type.

A rapid exchange of brief lines, often line for line, that intensifies a confrontation or tension.

The sequence of events represented, considered in its own internal logic; to be distinguished from the order in which they are presented in the narrative.

The duration and succession of events in the told world, to be distinguished from the length of the text.

A technique aiming to render the associative movement of perceptions and thoughts, sometimes at the expense of regular syntax.

An intervention on the overall organization of a work, its parts, its developments, and their relations.

The organization of headings, sections, and links allowing an e-book to be browsed other than page by page.

The set of recurring choices of language, rhythm, and composition that characterize a writing, without being reduced to its vocabulary.

The bringing together of words from the same root to create a sonic and semantic network.

An intervention on vocabulary, rhythm, phrasing, and the homogeneity of a text's voice.

The study of linguistic choices and their expressive effects in a text or set of texts.

A more specific grouping within a genre, defined by particular motifs or codes, without necessarily sharp boundaries.

The concrete matter treated by a work, to be distinguished from the general questions or themes it brings to light.

A parallel line of action that enriches or contrasts the main plot without necessarily carrying its central stakes.

The set of complementary exploitation possibilities beyond the initial book, whose perimeter must be specified.

An examination of the coherence of ideas, characters, facts, and argumentation before detail corrections.

The implicit meaning of words or actions, different from or more complex than their explicit content.

A complement to the title specifying the subject, form, series, or a reading orientation.

A rhyme generally carrying two shared phonemes according to the French school classification.

A condensed restatement of the content of a text or story, not necessarily conceived as a project document.

A movement exploring dream, chance, the unconscious, and unexpected associations to renew creative practices.

Tension tied to the anticipation of an expected but uncertain event; the reader may sometimes know more than the characters.

A use playing on two interpretations of a word or on agreement based on sense rather than form.

A reasoning composed of premises and a conclusion whose form determines the validity of the inference.

A concrete element whose meaning goes beyond its immediate presence and refers to cultural or work-specific ideas.

A late-nineteenth-century movement privileging suggestion, correspondences, and the evocative power of images.

Pronunciation of a vowel sequence as one metrical syllable when it could in some cases be split into two.

A substitutive relation, often classed under metonymy, notably associating part and whole or genus and species.

An expressive association of perceptions belonging to different senses, for example a color described as sounding.

A relation between words of close meaning, rarely perfectly interchangeable in all contexts.

A continuous presentation of the plot, its essential developments, and often its ending, intended notably for editorial work.

The organization of words and groups of words into structured units, influencing clarity, rhythm, and interpretation.

An ordered presentation of the parts and subdivisions of a document, generally accompanied by locations or links.

A generally short story drawn from oral or written traditions, which may draw on the marvelous, a moral lesson, or satire.

A stretch of story time passed over in silence in the narrative, producing an acceleration.

A stanza composed of three lines.

A text reporting a lived or collected experience whose impact rests notably on the witness's position.

An organized sequence of utterances forming a unit of meaning, on manuscript, print, digital, or transcribed oral support.

The study of the creative process from drafts, variants, and other material traces of the author's work.

A difference observable between two states or witnesses of the same text, arising notably from revision or transmission.

The dramatic art based on a text, a performance, or their combination, intended for presentation before an audience.

A critical label grouping dramaturgies that expose incommunicability, repetition, and the fragility of meaning.

A sustained speech by a character alone or speaking without effective exchange, capable of revealing thought.

The phase in which the essential tensions of the plot find an outcome, whether happy, unhappy, or open.

A sudden overturning of the situation that changes the audience's expectations and the possibilities for action.

A division of an act or a unit of stage action; criteria vary by author and period.

A stage unit often characterized by a relatively autonomous setting, atmosphere, or situation.

A recurring idea or domain of meaning explored by a text, such as memory, exile, or lineage.

The main position defended in an argumentative text, to be distinguished from the mere subject treated.

A narrative that usually designates characters by 'he,' 'she,' or their name, without determining focalization on its own.

Fiction built around threat, suspense, and a tension that pushes the reader to anticipate danger.

An element followed over time, such as a question or a relationship, that links otherwise different episodes.

A long line developed by a character, addressed to one or several interlocutors.

The main designation of a work, identifying it and capable of preparing or thwarting the reader's expectations.

The page bearing the main identifying information of the book, notably title and author.

The expressive coloring of a text or passage, linked notably to its affective attitude and its effects.

A dramatic genre that stages a serious conflict whose outcome may be destructive; forms vary historically.

An effect of gravity tied to an impasse, fate, or a conflict whose consequences appear irreversible.

A dramatic form mixing serious stakes with comic elements, defined differently across periods.

The passage of speech or a document into a written representation according to a stated method.

A passage linking two narrative moments without necessarily constituting an autonomous dramatic peak.

Rights necessary to authorize the translation and exploitation of a work in another language.

A collection of notes and descriptions born of a journey, sometimes blending narrative, sketches, documents, and reflection.

A text organizing a real or fictional journey into experiences, descriptions, and encounters.

A methodical and relatively systematic exposition of a domain or question, traditionally more structured than a free essay.

A set of three works conceived or presented as linked, without obligation of direct continuity in the plot.

A brief and striking ending that produces surprise or reinterpretation, common in short stories.

The nominal size of a character, generally expressed in points, distinct from its exact visible height.

A typewritten or computer-typed text, generally handed in in a legible form for proofreading.

The formatting of text and graphic elements to produce the pages of a book.

A point error introduced or left in a text, especially a typing or composition mistake.

A specialist in the composition and formatting of the characters and signs of a text.

Verification of signs, spaces, capitals, and presentation conventions proper to a publication.

Fiction that alters a past event and explores the consequences of this historical bifurcation.

A reading version distributed before publication, liable to still contain corrections to make.

A narrative voice whose words invite the reader to question the knowledge, sincerity, or interpretation of the events.

The sending of books not wanted or ordered by the bookseller; a practice contested in the commercial circuit.

The sending of an unrequested manuscript to a publisher according to its possible reception terms.

Information deliberately absent or withheld, which takes on meaning through context and the reader's expectations.

Authorization to exploit a work within the limits set by a contract or a public license.

A representation of another society, envisioned as an ideal model or as a device for thinking about the real world.

A piece of language situated in a context, attributable to a voice or instance that speaks.

A theatrical form associated with domestic intrigue, misunderstandings, and rapid succession of situations, in changing traditions.

The way the unfolding of a process is presented, such as completed, ongoing, repeated, or bounded.

A segment of poetic writing set off graphically from the others, with or without regular meter.

The set of rules and procedures governing the organization of lines, syllables, stanzas, and rhymes.

The second side of a leaf, generally placed on the left in an open Western book.

A novel distributed mainly online, often serially and with possible interactions with readers.

A fiction of the strange that blurs the conventions of the fantastic, horror, and sometimes science fiction.

Isolated lines at the top or bottom of a page or column; the precise conventions of the two terms vary.

A tale in which the supernatural belongs to the accepted conventions of the world and shapes the trials of the story.

The amount of text aimed at in a session or period; a practical indicator that does not measure literary quality.

A publication considered as a material or intellectual whole, generally a book in the editorial context.

A temporary state of the manuscript, kept to allow trials, feedback, and modifications.

Communication of the information needed to understand a fictional world, through narrative, dialogue, document, or action.

A stable principle that limits or makes possible what can happen in an imagined world.

A document describing the rules and reference points of a fictional world to facilitate coherent development.

The construction of the rules, places, histories, societies, and practices of a fictional world in order to give it coherence.

A person who practices the writing of works, especially literary ones, whether occasionally or professionally.

A persistent difficulty in continuing or starting writing, which may have varied causes.

A support where observations, ideas, fragments, plans, and questions are recorded in the course of creation.

A voluntary, formal, or thematic rule used to stimulate invention or organize a work.

A program offering an author time, a place, or support dedicated to a creative project.

Regular work habits chosen to support the continuity of practice.

A collective or accompanied framework offering prompts, exercises, exchanges, and feedback on texts.

An editorial category aimed primarily at older adolescents and young adults, with variable commercial usage.

A configuration in which the narration has access to more information than any particular character could possess.

The attachment of several complements to a single word, sometimes with a shift between their meanings or constructions.

A self-organized and often artisanal publication, close to the fanzine but open to very diverse subjects and communities.