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 similes and metaphors from Amy Waldman…. American author and journalist Amy Waldman (pictured above) was a reporter with the New York Times for …
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 from David Bezmozgis… Born in Latvia, David Bezmozgis is a writer and filmmaker based in Toronto. In the summer of 2010, he …
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 from Michael Crummey… I’m not a fan of the way celebrated Newfoundland writer Michael Crummey plots his novels. Still, I really like …
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 images from David Szalay…. The writer David Szalay (pictured above) was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and a Hungarian father. (His …
Reading time: Just over 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of similes from Claire Lombardo…. Claire Lombardo (pictured above), is a fiction writer, teacher, and 2017 graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her first …
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 James McBride…. I’ve been a dedicated reader since I was six years old. But if you backed me up against a …
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 from John MacLachlan Gray…. I saw the award-winning musical Billy Bishop Goes to War — written by John MacLachlan Gray — about …
Reading time: Less than one minute I’m too exhausted from the launch of my new book to be able to write a figurative language post as I do most Thursdays. Instead, I ask you to consider whether you might be a world-class procrastinator. Would you prefer scrubbing your toilet to …
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 Dwight Garner…. I’m roughly a year-long fan of the fabulous New York Times Book Review podcast. My favourite part of the …
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 Elizabeth Weil…. Even though I have almost zero interest in organized sports, (let me read, instead!) I watched some of the …
