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: 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 Lisa Brennan-Jobs…. When I read the rave reviews of Lisa Brennan-Jobs’ memoir, about her life with her father Steve Jobs, I …
Reading time: Less than 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about several similes from Candian writer Wayne Grady…. A translater, writer and writing teacher, Wayne Grady (pictured above), is also the son of an African-Canadian father who …
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 R.O. Kwon…. R. O. Kwon (pictured above) is an American novelist. She was born in Seoul, South Korea, and …
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 Stacia Pelletier…. The plot of the novel The Half Wives by American writer Stacia Pelletier (pictured above), did not sound promising to …
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes and metaphors from Canadian novelist David Chariandy…. A Canadian writer, who won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2017, David Chariandy (pictured above), grew up in Toronto and …
Reading time: Just over 1 minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about metaphors and similes from Rachel Syme… I haven’t yet seen any of the four versions of the movie A Star Is Born, but the buzz surrounding …
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 Irish-American writer Colum McCann…. Irish-American writer Colum McCann (pictured above), was born in Dublin but now lives and works in New …
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 novelist Tom Rachman…. I found Tom Rachman’s 2010 book, The Imperfectionists, a magnificent coup — a first novel that …
Reading time: About 1 minute I like to share similes and metaphors I encounter in my reading. I write today about the figurative language of Julian Barnes…. I read Julian Barnes’ latest novel, The Only Story, earlier this summer. While I enjoyed the beginning I can’t say the book was up …
Reading time: About 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of arresting images from American writer Amor Towles…. I love receiving books — they are my favourite gift in the world. Particularly if the giver …
