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 Jennifer Egan… My husband knows how much I enjoy the writing of Jennifer Egan. So, one of his recent gifts for me was her novel, Manhattan […]
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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, similes and personification from Gail Honeyman…. When I heard the book title, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (pictured above), I suspected it might be either
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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 metaphor from New Yorker scribe Andrew Marantz…. I like political satire as much as the next person, but American politics is so coo-coo right now that satire scarcely seems necessary. Still,
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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 from J. Courtney Sullivan… I had never heard of the American author J. Courtney Sullivan (pictured above) until I read her novel Saints for All Occasions. While I enjoyed
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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 Pamela Paul…. When I heard about Pamela Paul’s “BOB” — an acronym meaning Book of Books — I knew I had to read her
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute I write today about some figurative language from noted Canadian writer, and two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, Terry Fallis…. I discovered writer Terry Fallis (pictured above) in 2009, shortly after he had won his first Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his very funny novel
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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 from Celeste Ng…. I was gobsmacked by the first novel, Everything I Never Told You written by Celeste Ng. The story of a Chinese American family living
More figurative language from Celeste Ng…. 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 some similes and metaphors from John Green…. I first heard about John Green (pictured above) about eight years ago, when my kids were still teenagers. He was famous to them as
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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 from novelist Claire Messud…. American novelist and creative writing professor Claire Messud (pictured above) is best known for her novels The Emperor’s Children (2006) and The Woman Upstairs (2013). The first
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Reading time: Just over 1 minute Jesse Green writes for the New York Times. Today, I discuss his great facility with figurative language… I stopped paying attention to contemporary music in 1979 when I graduated from university. I didn’t stop listening but I stopped caring about the names of the songs and the performers and the
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