Category: Literary Devices & Writing Techniques

October 25, 2016

The Line Between Prose and Poetry

I got on facebook to reply to one invite and, predictably, spent the next hour distracted by various people’s posts. The one that finally inspired me enough to break the fb tunnel vision was a shared article about anxiety called “Anxiety Is an Invalid Excuse” from Just Cut the Bullshit. Besides the gripping illustration of a hard situation, the post caught my interest...

Categories Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Poetry Comments: 0

September 6, 2016

Plain Speaking Doesn’t Mean Honest

In our culture, there’s an automatic assumption that plain speaking means someone is being honest. Surely, no one would be that blunt (A.K.A. rude) unless they meant what they were saying! Nope. Just like roundabout speaking doesn’t necessarily mean someone is lying, plain speaking doesn’t mean honest. Other Reasons for Plain Speaking Lying: People think that people who are blunt are honest, right? Let say someone...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Quotes, Words, & Phrases Comments: 0

August 8, 2016

Winnie the Pooh Didn’t Say That! (That’s Why It’s Funny!)

Here’s a little humor for your Monday. Remember how the art of the unexpected is about setting you up for one outcome and then giving you another? Well, with parody, you automatically have an expected outcome… And no, of course, Winnie the Pooh didn’t say that (He wasn’t in Queen!). But can you imagine it in his voice? Hilarious!

Categories Humor & Wordplay/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 0

August 7, 2016

An Artist Who Turns Puns into Paintings – with Sheep!

I’ve heard my share of puns (ok, possibly more than my share), but how often do you get to see puns? Today, I ran across an artist who turns puns into paintings – with sheep, no less. Some examples include Ewetube (a sheep sticking out of either end of a long mailbox), Harry Potter (a sheep working on a pottery...

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June 5, 2016

The Obscure Paradox: AKA Elf Speak

Oh, the paradox. There’s something both marvelous and horrid about a statement that is true and false at the same time. Or seems to be both, anyway. It’s great for confusing characters, adding a little local color through common phrases (“awfully good”), or writing dialogue for elves. Wait – what? All right. All right. It doesn’t have to be elves....

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June 4, 2016

Foreshadowing Is Better in the Background

Foreshadowing. The promises you make to your reader. The secret to leading your readers by the nose. The secret to tricking them. You know, any kind of hint you scatter throughout the novel so that people don’t get to the ending and yell, “Where the heck did that come from?” and throw the book across the room. Theoretically, anway. As...

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June 1, 2016

Actual Realism v. Believable Realism: How to Fake It

Making writing seem real means the story has to match personal experiences and what we’ve heard about, but that covers a lot of ground. Especially since no one will have experienced everything first-hand. That means that the main part you have to match is the impression of the subject that society gives us. That’s why you can fake it. For most...

Categories Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Research & Worldbuilding Comment: 1

May 12, 2016

Do You Ever Feel Like an Anachronism?

Have you ever heard people say that they were born before their time or after their time? That they should have lived in a different era? They’re more or less calling themselves anachronisms. anachronism: n. an object, action, or custom that is far outside of its time (either extremely old-fashioned or too far advanced for the time) That probably sounds...

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April 3, 2016

Hyperbole Is the Best Literary Device Ever!

Ok, saying that hyperbole is the best literary device ever might be an exaggeration (see what I did there?), but it’s still a pretty cool tool to have in your arsenal. hyperbole: n. a big, dramatic exaggeration You know those people who seem to be a little distanced from the truth? You know, like a fisherman whose catches get longer...

Categories Characterization, Plot, & Setting/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques Comments: 2

March 31, 2016

Character Reactions Are the Laugh Tracks of Books

Any TV show that’s filmed live has little signs that tell the audience when to applaud. Almost all TV shows use laugh tracks so that audience members know when to laugh, and movies have soundtracks that tell the audience when they should feel happy or sad or scared. What do books have? Books have words. (duh) They have words that shape the...

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