Lars Eighner's Homepage Writers' Workshop Glossary: S

S

sans `ser·if or sanserif /s&nz 'sErIf /

of a typeface, lacking the short lines at the ends of the main strokes of letters such as the short horizontal lines at the top and bottom of a capital I. In some graphical browsers, this sentence will appear in a sans serif font. Sans serif faces tend to have a clean, modern appearance. Sans serif styles are often used for headlines, and because they are simpler, in charts, graphs, and documents prepared by plotters. In sans serif families, italic faces sometimes do not contrast well with the roman faces. Compare to: serif.

`sci·ence `fic·tion /'saI@ns 'fIkS@n/ noun

(genre) A genre of fiction variously defined with many subgenres. Science fiction fans are often very sensitive about the definition and limits of the genre and subgenres, but for present purposes I define the genre as: fiction in which amazing events or situations are presumed to have scientific explanations, either in science as we know it, plausible—or not-so-plausible—extensions of theoretical possibilities in science as we know it, science yet to be discovered (by us, although possibly known by someone or something in the past), or the science of a universe which has different natural laws from the present one. In other words, there is no supernatural: no magic or divine intervention. Admittedly there are some close calls in works almost everyone considers Science Fiction, such as The Force of Star Wars and Q of Star Trek, which mysteries I do not propose to address here. In truth, much science fiction suposes things which are profoundly impossible in science as we know it, including faster-than-light travel of large objects such as human beings or cargo. Science fiction can be divided roughly into stories in which the science matters and stories in which the science does not matter much at all. : sci-fi.

`ser·if /'sErIf/

(printing) Serifs are the short lines at the ends of the main strokes of letters in many type styles, and type styles which have serifs are called serif styles. The short horizontal lines at the top and bottom of a a capital I are serifs. In most graphical browsers this sentence will appear in a serif font. Serif styles are traditional and are considered more legible by many people. Compare with: sans serif.

`skunked ,word /'sk@Nkt ,wRd/ noun

As used here: A word which no longer means what it once meant because of persistent, sometimes deliberate, misuse. The word cannot be used in its original sense because of the new sense, and it cannot be used in the new sense because some people will be confused by the word's history or etymology. For example: fabulous by history and etymology should mean "unreal, as something in a fable," but its use by advertisers to mean "very good" makes it a skunked word.

`slug `line /'sl@g 'laIn/ noun

(printing)

1 : a line of type containing identifying information placed in a tray of type (galley) and intended to be removed before printing or a similar line containing identifying information in a file intended for electronic typesetting. The slug line should not appear in the finished work and should not be confused with a running head.
2 : (MS) a similar line at the top left corner of a manuscript in the form:
eighner/Moonbeams/4
This style of identifying pages of the manuscript was once common in journalism. Where stories were never expected to exceed nine pages in length, the page number was often repeated (for example: "444444444" for page four) on the theory that the writer might better avoid an error in numbering the pages. Most editors of fiction prefer that the page number (not repeated) appear in the top right-hand corner (or in the middle for book-length manuscripts). Otherwise, the slug line (also sometimes called a "stub" composed of the author's surname and a keyword from the title, is the same. In word processors, slug lines are created using the "header" feature. Slug lines go in the upper margin.

`South·ern `goth·ic /'s@DRn'gATIk/ noun or adjective

(rarely both capitalized) (genre) A gothic novel or story set in the South (US). More: gothic sense 2.

sus`pense /su'spEns/ noun or adjective

1 : (genre) A genre usually classed with mystery in which a sympathetic character is in great peril, usually but not always due to a criminal or insane person. The protagonist may or may not be aware immediately of the potential danger, but it is essential that the reader/viewer is aware. As Alfred Hitchcock, a principal developer of suspense in motion pictures has explained, if a bomb goes off and many people are killed, that may be tragic, but it is not suspense. To be suspense the viewer or reader must be aware that there is a bomb long before it might go off, must be shown the bomb, must know it is set to go off. For this reason, bombs in motion pictures are almost always equipped with large clocks which clearly display how much time remains until the bomb is supposed to go off. Most mysteries include some element of suspense because there is often the chance that the killer will strike again before he is apprehended, but in many suspense plots the identity of the culprit is no mystery because it is revealed so he can go about the business of menacing. The principal question of a suspense story is how (or will?) the protagonist avoid the peril.
2 : the element of suspense in works other than suspense fiction, whether the trivial suspense created by establishing a situation in which readers care "What happens next?", the ordinary suspense in stories which do not immediately reveal the outcome of situations, or suspense like that of the suspense genre except that the menace comes from a supernatural or unearthly being as in some horror or science fiction novels.