As with any community or group of people, eventually a sub-culture and lingo will evolve. (Yes, language can evolve.) As you can expect, this has happened within the writing community, so I am here to give you a crash course in writing lingo as I have experienced it personally, and have researched.
Alpha Reader(s)
An alpha is a person who is the first to read your work. Usually after a writer has completed all preliminary edits, they had it off to whoever is alphaing and they will read and discuss it with you. An alpha's job consists of helping the writer with bigger details, like plotholes and worldbuilding issues.
AU
Abbreviation of Alternate Universe. Most commonly employed in fanfiction writing.
Beta Reader
Beta readers are the people who read your work after you have finished making the edits that your alpha(s) have given you. They also focus on broader, more big picture edits as well, though some may have specialties or help with more minor details as well.
Blurb
That short little smippet of text that sums up your book on the back cover. Notorious for being immensely difficult to write.
Camp NaNo
Camp NaNo, sometimes referred to as Camp NaNoWriMo, is an event that takes place in April and July, and allows participants to choose their own word count goal for the month.
Canon
Something that is "in canon" happens in the official story.
Character Arc
Also known as a character development arc, this is when a character changes in a story, whether it is for better or worse. In short, it's used to refer to the character's growth throughout the story.
Charrie
Charrie is short for character.
Critique Partner
A critique partner is someone that you exchange works with. You read each other's drafts, make notes, and share your thoughts. It's a mutual exchange and is beneficial for both parties involved.
Doc
Short for document. A gDoc (or gdoc) is a Google Document.
Fanfic
Short for fanfiction.
Fic
A short story, usually fanfiction. Sometimes a short scene with original characters.
Fifty Headed Hydra
A word challenge in which you attempt to write 500 words in 5 minutes. It's more fun if you can compare typos with a friend.
FMC
An abbreviation for Female Main Character.
Gary Stu
The male version of the Mary Sue. Is more commonly used than the terms Marty Stu or Marty Sam.
Headcanon
A personal take or opinion on a specific aspect of a story. Often ends up in fanfiction. However, a writer can make their headcanons in canon in their own original work.
Indie
Also known as self-publishing, this is the process of publishing without using a traditional publishing company. Writers who have self-published books are referred to as indie authors. Self-publishing can be done through multiple companies, most of which will publish ebooks, but not always physical copies. Amazon is fairly popular with it's Kind Direct Publishing feature.
Inner Editor
The bane of a writer's existence. That little nagging voice in your head that hates pretty much everything you write or how you write it. Sometimes both at the same time.
Log Line
I didn't know this existed until I came across it here (Writer Lingo- a newbie's dictionary) According to Google and Wikipedia:
A log line or logline is a brief summary of a television program, film, or book that states the central conflict of the story, often providing both a synopsis of the story's plot, and an emotional "hook" to stimulate interest. A one-sentence program summary in TV Guide is a log line.
Manuscript
A draft once it has been alphaed, betaed, and edited, and is ready to be sent to be published.
Mary Sue
A (usually female) character who is perfect in very conceivable way. Mary Sues can very effectively kill stories.
MMC
Abbreviation for Male Main Character.
MC
Abbreviation for Main Character.
MS
Abbreviation for manuscript.
Muse
The Greeks believed that inspiration came from the Nine Muses. Now some writers have certain objects, animals, or other things that they may fondly call their "muse." And some may jokingly complain about their muse deserting them.
NaNo
A NaNo, or NaNo novel, is a novel that is being written by a member/participant of the NaNoWriMo community and/or event. It's also a short version of the acronym for National Novel Writing Month.
NaNoWriMo
The acronym for National Novel Writing Month. Can refer to the event which is the challenge to write 50,000 words in November, or the organization's website. Sometimes it's even shortened to NaNo. Here is a link to the official site (nanowrimo.org).
OC
Abbreviation for Original Character. Often used to specify if a character is canon in a fandom or not.
Panster/Pansting
Pansting is when you "fly by the seat of your pants" and do not plan the plot, setting, or characters beyond an initial idea, concept, or premise. Most people would probably call this "winging it."
Planner/Planning
Planners plan out everything. Usually using some sort of outline, or notes system. Different planners will swear by different software for writing and planning, too.
Plantser/Plantsing
This is the combined, hybridized approach that blends planning and pantsing into a single cohesive method. It works by planning while leaving room for spontaneous creativity.
Plot Bunny
Plot bunnies are a serious issue. They can result from a divergence from the original plot, often because of compelling side/background characters or settings. Some are simply the inspiration and drive to work on yet another project. Plot bunnies can successfully derail plans and cause a plot to go in a totally different direction than intended, or cause a writer to drop their current WIP in favor of another one.
POV
Abbreviation for Point Of View. Multiple POVS mean that more than one character is narrating or followed by the narrator. Usually a multiple POV story uses 3rd person, and a single POV will sometimes dictate 1st person. (That's a pun, by the way.)
Plotter
Plotter is another term for a planner. In the NaNoWriMo community, the term planner is favored as all writers do have to plot something at some point.
Query
Querying is when you send a letter to a traditional publisher and essentially try to persuade them that your book is worth publishing. Query letters are intended to hook the person reading it and convince them that you are more worth their time than the other people querying are.
Rabbit Hole
Rabbit holes are caused by many things. Research, Pinterest, or reading your friend's fanfiction series. Rabbit holes are sometimes accompanied by the malicious plot bunnies.
Research
Writers are often researchers. Lot's of jokes and memes revolve solely around Google search histories of writers, and there is low-key competition to see who has the weirdest/most concerning search history. Often horror and murder writers take the stage.
ROW80
This is a writing challenge for bloggers. One of the requirements for this event is a blog. Basically you set a goal to reach in 80 days and do your best to reach it. There are 4 rounds every year. You can find out more at this site (aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com).
Slush Pile
Google defines it as such
a stack of unsolicited manuscripts that have been sent to a publishing company for consideration.
Wikipedia adds
In publishing, a slush pile is a set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts that have either been directly sent to a publisher by an author, or which have been delivered via a literary agent representing the author who may or may not be familiar to the publisher.
Basically, the slush pile is where your manuscript goes to be read if you're querying.
Subplot
Subplot is the plot within a plot, and is often a great tool for character arcs and developing relationships between characters.
Traditional
Often referred to as traditional publishing, this is the process that occurs when a writer tries to get their manuscript accepted and published by a publishing company. The biggest contenders in traditional publishing in the US are Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster. Traditional publishing companies will make physical copies of your book and distribute them in bookstores.
WIP
An abbreviation for Work In Progress, this is commonly used in reference to writing projects that are actively being worked on.
Word Count
The amount of words that are in a draft.
Word Crawl
A series of small writing challenges, such as sprints and wars that are put together, often with a theme.
Word Sprint
A timed writing challenge where you write as much as possible in a given amount of time.
Word War
A competitive word sprint where you test yourself against one or more other people.
Worldbuilding
The process of creating the world or worlds that the story takes place in.
WriMo
People who are NaNoWriMo members are sometimes referred to as WriMos.
Writer's Block
This is when you're stuck and can't write anything worth writing- even for a first draft. It can have emotional and mental affects that leave you wondering why you even ever thought that writing was a good idea.
Writer Fuel
Coffee, tea, chocolate, and pretty much anything with caffeine. Writer fuel is the reason that your mom keeps eyeing the suspicious crumbs around your keyboard.
Writing Challenge
A challenge or event to help you write more.
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