Writer's Glossary - T

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tease

At the beginning of a story, after the main character is introduced (and usually plunged into terrible trouble or otherwise have some urgency introduced into the scene), the writer departs briefly to set the scene for a few lines. That opening scene is the "tease"—designed to to grip the reader with a narrative hook and then make him hang for a few seconds. This usually doesn't work if you ramble on for eight pages. Just a few lines or short paragraphs, just enough to make the reader feel a bit of urgency himself to get on with the story and see what happens. Too much, and you may lose the reader, or at the very least annoy him. Also, when rambling for those few sentences or paragraphs, the content should be directly related to the character and the scene in some way—don't make it extraneous information. Brief exposition, a quick flashback, or some introductory foreshadowing is always good.

• Bad example: Introduce the lead character, in the midst of a sudden horrible car chase by gun-shooting bad guys, and then go on for eight pages of commentary about all that had happened to him in his love life prior to this, all in the hopes of the reader identifying with the character as he is likely going to die.
• Good example: Introduce the lead character, in the midst of a sudden horrible car chase by gun-shooting bad guys, and then go on for a brief paragraph about his recent fight with his love and wishing he had told her he loved her, all in the hopes of the reader identifying with the character as he is likely going to die.

THE END
Indicator typed at the completion of a manuscript to indicate there is nothing further. Read commentary under -30-.

theme

Those of the old school of writing might refer to the theme as the "moral of the story," but this isn't always true. Themes are not always morals just as morals are not always themes. While a moral is usually based on a societal view on what is right and just and virtuous, preaching to and indeed instructing the writer on this stance of righteousness and justice and virtuosity, a theme is an underlying opinion. The opinion is that of a writer—it's what he's conveying of his beliefs or the purpose of his story.

The theme brings meaning and purpose to the plot, as Dean Koontz so very well put it in his book How To Write Best-Selling Fiction. One could argue that a theme is not necessary and a story can be written without one; however, it seems impossible for there to be no meaning at all to a work of fiction, whether intended or not. Even if it isn't intended, a theme becomes such as a series of related observations about the human condition as interpreted by the writer—whether he means to or not.

• See also elements of a story.

transition

The movement from one scene to another; often used to convey passage of time. It can also be used in the same scene to change character point of view. The most common use of this is the space break.

typewriter

An archaic form of producing printed text on paper. Devout typewriter users argue that they're just as good as a computer for a writer, since submissions don't use fancy fonts and the finished manuscript from a typewriter is indistinguishable from computer output. The fact is, you can't output as fast on a typewriter (you can always type at least as fast on a computer) and changes are more easily made—typos, misspellings, grammatical changes, etc.—and it certainly is easier to reprint the entire piece. You could reprint a 30-page story in the time it takes to retype one page. Time is money, and writing is your business; don't waste time.

Typewriters still have their place in today's business world, such as filling out multi-part forms; but from a productivity standpoint, they have no place with writers. Try a word processor.

For the differences between a computer, a typewriter, and handwriting for your writing, check out this comparison I put together.