I know I risk sounding like an English teacher when I use the words “figurative language.” The phrase may sound frightening but figurative language will make your writing more interesting evocative and memorable. And who doesn’t want that –even in non-fiction? Here are some examples of figurative language:
• allusion
• hyperbole
• metaphor
• oxymoron
• personification
• paradox
• simile
I read widely and follow many forms of media, keeping my eyes and ears attuned to figurative language so I can share a piece of it with you each week.
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors and similes from Alison Wearing…. An award-winning Canadian writer, playwright and performer, Alison Wearing (pictured above) knows her way around memoir. I …
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Maria Konnikova… My reading affections are more or less equally divided between novels and non-fiction. But in the latter category, I …
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes and metaphors from Niall Williams…. An Irish writer whose novels have received critical acclaim and widespread success, Niall Williams is known for …
Niall Williams’s figurative language… Read More »
Reading time: Less than1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Chris Voss… A reader of my blog whose name I’ve managed to misplace (my apologies!) strongly suggested I read the book Never …
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from writer Samantha Harvey…. There is a pop star named Samantha Harvey but the person I’m talking about today is very fine …
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors and similes from Alice Miller… Alice Miller is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the International Institute of Modern Letters. She …
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Reading time: Less than 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from Stefan Hertmans…. Someone — I don’t remember who — told me about the novel The Convert, by Stefan Hertmans. They must …
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Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Elena Ferrante… I have not yet read any of the famous Neopolitan Novels by the pseudonymous Italian novelist Elena Ferrante. Instead, following …
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors and similes from Megha Majumdar… When Megha Majumdar (pictured above) wrote her debut novel, she was working as an editor at Catapult …
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of metaphors from writer Alix Ohlin… Three years ago, I picked up a novel by Canadian writer Alix Ohlin, from a shelf in a …
Alix Ohlin’s figurative language…. Read More »
