OC: acronym which stands for 'Original Character'. Refers to a non-canon character who has been written by the author into a story.
OOC: Acronym standing for 'Out of Character'.
Mary Sue: A term originating from a Self-insert Star Trek Fan-fiction where the main character was adored by everyone and was not capable of doing something wrong. For more information, check out OSP's and TWA's videos on Youtube.
Lemon: Slang for fan-fiction which contains gratuitous sexual acts. Originated from a Japanese slang term meaning Sexy. See also: Lime
Lime: Slang for fan-fiction that contains mild sexual acts
Self-insert: A character the author has written in that represents theirselves; I.e. Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls, Dante from Dante's Inferno, and Randolph Carter in Lovecraft's tales. This term is different from an Auto-biography because biographies are (presumably) non-fiction accounts by the author. The art equivalent is a self-portrait.
Canon (In fan-fiction and fandoms): Relating directly to the source material, accepted as official.
Non-canon (in fan-fiction and fandoms): Something generally not accepted as official. Thus, all fan-fictions are classified as non-canon.
AU: Acronym standing for Alternate Universe.
Fluff: Acts of romantic affections that are considered cute, I.e. Snuggling, cuddling, kissing, etc.
OTP: Acronym standing for "One True Pairing"; it refers to whatever ship the subject favors the most. (See shipping)
Shipping: The romantic pairing between two characters, but it can also be applied the world outside of fiction, as well as to non-canon, self-inserts, and OC's.
x Reader: A pairing that ships a character with a member of the audience; Usually added on the end of a tag, I.e. Spock x Reader or Dean x Reader. Different from an author self-insert in that the POV main character is supposed to be the reader themselves. Sometimes in second person.
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The Book of Fictional Writing 101
Non-FictionA handy lexicon of terms used in and applied to literary fiction and what they actually mean, as well as some ideas on how to improve your writing.
