There are many terms used to refer to the act of 'writing', so here is a selection of basic writing terms and definitions that you should know.
Antagonist:
The principal opponent of the main character (the protagonist; hero or heroine), in a drama or narrative. The word is from the Greek antagnistḗs, “opponent or rival.” They are the primary source of conflict in a story — and conflict is necessary for a good story. It should be noted that the antagonist does not always have to be a character; it could be a thing, an animal, or a situation (a monster, a storm, a flood, etc.).
Backstory:
The history behind characters and events, often included as flashbacks or slipped into the dialogues or recollections of the characters.
Character:
Featured in a story and used as a medium to communicate/interact with the reader; he or she is given a specific attitude, appearance, name, etc. to direct a storyline. Characters can be major or minor and static (unchanging) or dynamic (capable of change). They are sentient beings who do the action and dialogue, usually people, sometimes animals and occasionally inanimate objects.
Characterization:
The method used by a writer to make a character in a story seem like a real person. Common ways for writers to illustrate characters is through their speech, dress, actions, and mannerisms.
Climax:
The moment of greatest intensity in a work of fiction; the most exciting and important part of a story, usually occurring at or near the end. The climax is the turning point in the action.
Conflict:
In literature, conflict is a literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces, usually a protagonist and an antagonist.
Dénouement:
The outcome of a plot; the resolution or final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work. The dénouement reveals the answers to secrets/misunderstandings, matters are explained or resolved in the plot and come after the climax.
Dialogue:
A written composition in which two or more characters are represented as conversing; the conversations between characters in a literary work, typically enclosed within quotation marks.
Diction:
The choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness, in a literary work. Writers will use words to reveal character, imply certain attitudes, convey action, demonstrate themes, and indicate values.
Exposition:
This refers to the first stage/introduction of a plot, in which necessary background information is provided, including the primary characters' names, setting, mood, and timeframe.
Falling Action:
The action in a story that occurs after the climax, thus moving it toward its resolution.
Fiction:
Literature that tells a story that has been imagined by the writer.
Flashback:
When a relevant past event is brought up in the current time of the story. A common way for this to occur is through a narration or a dream. Flashbacks create complications within the chronology of the plot to help enrich the experience of time.
Foil:
A character in a story whose purpose is to bring out certain characteristics in either the main character or in other characters. Thus, the foil character will contrast with and parallel those characters.
Foreshadowing:
To give a suggestion of something that will happen in the story.
Genre:
The type of story, such as mystery, true crime, biography, memoir, science fiction, etc.
Hero's Journey:
In storytelling, the hero's journey is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed.
It is a skeletal framework that describes how a character moves throughout their journey within a plot. While every story does not contain the Hero's Journey, many stories are outlined by it.
Narrator:
The person or character who tells and explains a story; the person who says the words that are heard as part of a story; the person describing what is happening in a story; a person who provides the narration for something.
Plot:
A the direction of a story's main events and incidents and how they relate to one another.
Point of View (POV):
the angle from which a story is told or narrated. Point of view can be first person, objective, limited omniscient, or omniscient.
– First-person: the narrator is either a character in the story or an observer.
– Objective: the narrator knows (or seems to know) no more than the reader.
– Limited omniscient: the narrator knows some things about the characters, but not everything.
– Omniscient: the narrator knows everything about the characters.
Protagonist:
The principal or main character whose fate matters most in a literary work. The protagonist pushes the story forward.
Resolution:
The act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict or problem; the act of resolving something.
Rising Action:
The set of conflicts in a story that leads up to the climax.
Setting:
The time, place, and conditions in which the action of a story takes place and which establish its context.
Theme:
The idea of a literary work abstracted from its details of language, character, and action, and cast in the form of a generalization. The theme is what the author is trying to convey, in other words, the central idea of the story.
Tone:
A particular pitch or change of pitch constituting an element in the intonation of a phrase or sentence; the style or manner of expression in speaking or writing. Simply put, the attitude that a character or narrator or author takes towards a given subject.
Writing Style:
The ways in which an author chooses to write words for his or her readers, including how he or she arranges sentences, paragraphs, dialogue, and verse. Style also refers to how the author develops ideas and actions with description, imagery, and other literary techniques.
NOTE:
The information presented here is based on multiple sources from the Internet.