Writing Styles and Techniques

Écriture blanche: "White writing" or neutral style, associated with Camus and Ernaux.

Écriture féminine: Feminine writing, theoretical concept in French feminism.

Le Mot juste: The exact right word, precision particularly associated with Flaubert.

Roman à clef: Novel with real people disguised as fictional characters.

Roman à thèse: Novel written to demonstrate a thesis or ideological point.

Roman d'apprentissage: Coming-of-age novel or bildungsroman.

Roman fleuve: Multi-volume novel saga, like Proust's work.

Stream of consciousness: Interior monologue technique, used by Proust and others.

Vers libre: Free verse, liberated from traditional metrics.