Some attempts at (re)definition

I have been thinking for a while about how our attempts to define craft terms influence our students’ (and our own) aesthetics, and I have wanted to try other definitions. How to define “tone,” for example, seemed especially difficult. Here are some alternate definitions, for now:

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Tone:
an orientation toward the world

Plot:
acceptance or rejection of consequences

Conflict:
what gives or takes away the illusion of free will

Character arc:
how a character changes or fails to change

Story arc:
how the world in which the character lives is changed or fails to be changed

Characterization:
what makes the character different from everyone else

Relatability:
is it clear how the implied author is presenting the characters

Believability:
the differences and similarities between various characters’ expectations

Vulnerability:
the real author’s stakes in the implied author

Setting:
awareness of the world

Pacing:
modulation of breath

Structure:
the organization of meaning

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