Definitions

1. Linear: progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential.
2. Chronological: (of a record of events) following the order in which they occurred.
3. Sequential: forming or following in a logical order or sequence.
4. Circular structure: A story that ends in the same place it began is commonly called a circular or cyclical narrative
5. Time based: used to describe payment that is related to the time you spend working, rather than the number of things you do, produce, etc.
6. Narrative arc: A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, video games, and films with each episode following a dramatic arc.
7. Freytag’s Pyramid: Freytag’s Pyramid is a five-part map of dramatic structure itself.
8. exposition: a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
9. inciting incident: The inciting incident of a story is the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative
10. rising action: a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest
11. climax: A key moment in a story that is filled with drama
12. falling action: Falling action is what happens near the end of a story after the climax and resolution of the major conflict.
13. resolution: a firm decision to do or not to do something/the quality of being determined or resolute.
14. denouement : the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
15. Beginning / middle / end: different stages of a story
16. Equilibrium: a state of physical balance.
17. Disruption: disturbance or problems which interrupt an event, activity, or process/radical change to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation.
18. New equilibrium: Equilibrium is a balance between several different influences or aspects of a situation.
19. Peripeteia: a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to fictional narrative.
20. Anagnorisis: the point in a play, novel, etc., in which a principal character recognizes or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.
21. Catharsis: the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
22. The 3 Unities: Action, Time, Place: they require a play to have a single action represented as occurring in a single place and within the course of a day. These principles were called, respectively, unity of action, unity of place, and unity of time.
23. flashback / flash forward: A flashbacks occurs when the writer decides to insert details from the past into a present narrative in order to provide necessary plot information or insight into a character’s motivation. A flash forward, on the other hand, is when some event that has yet to happen in the present narrative time intrudes.
24. Foreshadowing: be a warning or indication of (a future event).
25. Ellipsis: the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues.
26. Pathos: a quality that evokes pity or sadness.
27. Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
28. diegetic / non-diegetic: Diegetic sound is sound that comes from the setting of the film. Non-diegetic sound is sound that comes from our world, such as the soundtrack or scoring
29. slow motion: the action of showing film or playing back video more slowly than it was made or recorded, so that the action appears much slower than in real life.