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 2 minutes I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about a series of telling images from Joanna Quinn… The English writer Joanna Quinn is marvellously imaginative. Although The Whalebone Theatre is her first novel, she writes with the assurance of a much […]
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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 simile and a metaphor from Jenny Jackson…. Jenny Jackson has an unusual back-story for an author. She’s a Vice President and Executive Editor at Alfred A. Knopf. A graduate of Williams College
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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 metaphors from Ruth Ozeki… Ruth Ozeki is a writer, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest. Her breakout first novel, which was published in 1998, was based on her work in Japanese television. Titled My
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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 some similes from Reema Patel… Reema Patel is a Canadian writer and lawyer based in Toronto who has spent the last ten years working in provincial and municipal governments. Born 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 figurative language from Liane Moriarty… Liane Moriarty is an Australian author who has written nine novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, which were adapted into television series for
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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 images from Tessa Hadley…. Tess Hadley is a British author, who writes novels, short stories and nonfiction. She has published eight novels, as well as three short-story collections for
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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 Irish-American writer Colum McCann…. Irish-American writer Colum McCann (pictured above), was born in Dublin but now lives and works in New York City. I fell in
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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 novelist Tom Rachman…. I found the 2010 book, The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman, to be a magnificent coup — a first novel that engaged,
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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 year. While I enjoyed the beginning, I can’t say the book was up to his usual high standards.
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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 has already read the book
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