Acronyms/Abbreviations Used to Talk about Writing on the Internet

When I first started participating in online writing activities, I noticed a strange secret code in effect. I knew many of the acronyms used in chat - like LOL and such. But novel writing has its own special acronyms, so I thought I'd share some I've learned. I know I've forgotten some, so if you notice any I missed, remind me in the comments and I'll add them to the list.

WIP - Work in Progress (Your current writing project, usually a novel)

MC - Main Character

POV - Point of View

ARC - Advanced Reader Copy (The copies authors and reviewers receive before the book is actually available to the public)

HEA - Happily Ever After (Used by romance genre to indicate a happy ending)

HFN - Happy For Now (The characters end up together, but no indication it's a forever relationship)

H/H - Hero/Heroine (A couple in a romance novel) M/F - Male/Female (Romance between a male and female character)

GLB - Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual

het - Heterosexual

YA - Young Adult

SF - Science Fiction

NanNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month (Participants who join this website complete a 50,000 word novel in a month, toiling along with their fellow writers: November 1 - November 30th).

Glossary of Freelance Writing Terms

New to the freelance writing game? Be sure you know the lingo. Here is a nice glossary of writing terms from freelance writer Amy Derby at write-from-home.blogspot.com.

I'll add a few definitions:

Essay - A non-fiction piece of writing that expresses a point or lesson from the author's viewpoint.

Op Ed - A piece of writing expressing the author's opinion on a subject. They are usually written for newspapers, but may also appear in other publications.

Sidebar - Writing that is set off from the rest of the article in the margins. It can be a recipe, a highlight of a quote from the article, a quote from someone else, or additional facts and information on the subject.

The DabblingMum has an article on "How to Write Sidebars". If you pitch an article to a magazine that likes them, be sure include suggestions for the sidebars. The more work you can do for the editor, the more he or she will love you.