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 similes from Kent Haruf… Masterful American author Kent Haruf, who died in 2014, worked in a variety of places before he started writing. These included a chicken farm in […]
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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 Yasuko Thanh…. Yasuko Thanh is a writer and guitarist, born in Canada to a German mother and a Vietnamese father. At the age of 15, she dropped
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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 Rebecca Kuang… The plot of the book is delicious. Two young authors — one a rising literary star, the other in the shadows — have a drink
The figurative language of Rebecca Kuang Read More »
Reading time: About one minute I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about similes from Yoko Ogawa…. Yoko Ogawa is a Japanese writer who has published more than 20 works of fiction and nonfiction, and has won every major Japanese literary award. She started her
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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 similes and metaphors from Mary Choi…. I have three sisters so I’m always up for novels exploring the often-crazy dynamics of family relationships. The delightful novel Yolk, by Mary Choi falls into
The figurative language of Mary Choi… Read More »
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 Stephen McCauley… American novelist Stephen McCauley (pictured above), started his working life by teaching yoga, working at a hotel, a kindergarten, and being a
The figurative language of Stephen McCauley… Read More »
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 rushed to buy her book,
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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 several similes from Candian writer Wayne Grady…. A translator, writer and writing teacher, Wayne Grady, is also the son of an African-Canadian father who passed for white. Interestingly, he didn’t discover
The figurative language of Wayne Grady…. Read More »
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 grew up in Cerritos, California.
The figurative language of R.O. Kwon…. Read More »
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 me. Set in late 19th century
The figurative language of Stacia Pelletier…. Read More »
