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: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of images from Deb Olin Unferth…. I had never heard of Deb Olin Unferth — an an American short story writer, novelist, and memoirist — …
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Reading time: Less than 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 Casey Cep…. I was introduced to writer Casey Cep (pictured above) when I read her New Yorker article headlined, …
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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 Mark Salzman… There are two reasons to read the excellent 2012 book The Man in the Empty Boat written by …
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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 Gail Caldwell…. I wrote last week about a New York Times piece by Gail Caldwell (pictured above), an American …
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Reading time: Less than 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 Gail Caldwell… In the earlier days of COVID, I’d read anything about the subject, as I was desperate for both information …
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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 Robin Sloan…. I’ve been a moderately serious home cook for many years — always baking cakes from scratch and …
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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 Lily King… I don’t know whether to be delighted or alarmed that the Artificial Intelligence lurking inside my Kindle …
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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 Taffy Brodesser-Akner…. I have a friend who used to tell me his favourite movie — by an unbelievably overwhelming …
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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 Elizabeth Wetmore… Before devoting herself to writing, Elizabeth Wetmore (pictured above), tended bar, taught English, drove a cab, edited …
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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 similes and metaphors from Casey Cep… Typically, when I find figurative language, the writing is somewhat flowery. I mean that in a good way of course, …
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