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 metaphors from Elizabeth Renzetti. I’m a big fan of the journalist Elizabeth Renzetti who writes for the Globe and Mail newspaper. She’s funny, opinionated and articulate — all qualities I seek […]
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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 Nathan Heller. I love San Francisco. My husband and I went there for our honeymoon and returned for our 10th wedding anniversary. (The remarkable aspect of that, was that we left 5-year-old
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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 an effective — and amusing — metaphor from Janet Maslin. I pay $3.82 per week for a digital subscription to the New York Times. To me, it’s worth every penny for ease
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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 the metaphorical efforts of Tom Rachman. The book The Imperfectionists earned a spot on my top 10 list of novels for 2010. It stunned me that a first-time novelist could pull off such a
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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 Jack Hitt. I started reading the New York Times on my iPhone a few months ago. I love it! It’s relatively inexpensive ($3.75/week). It doesn’t require any newsprint.
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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 clever bit of personification from Anthony Lane. Is it possible to personify a person? I think it is, is if person is dead. And if the writer is Anthony Lane, the British
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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 Calvin Trillin… I can no longer remember the first time I tasted fresh mozzarella but I think I was about 25. It was a life-changing moment. The freshness!
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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 from Emily Nussbaum… Here’s one of the reasons I read The New Yorker each week. It allows me to learn about things I would never in a million years otherwise know. For example: online
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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 from Margaret Talbot… My kids introduced me to young adult videographer and writer John Green about four years ago. I found his Vlog Brothers videos, which he prepares with his brother, Hank, absolutely
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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 from Kim Echlin. Going on holiday, for me, is all about reading. Why then, did I go out of town a few weeks ago with no books and a mostly empty Kindle? I
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