Rules for dialogue writing abound. Here's one agent's advice on using dialogue tags besides "said" and "asked," and for some examples of dialogue, check out the Eavesdropping Blogger.
Showing posts with label better writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label better writing. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Soft, What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks, he said: Dialogue Tags
People Talking By David Locke Creative Commons
Rules for dialogue writing abound. Here's one agent's advice on using dialogue tags besides "said" and "asked," and for some examples of dialogue, check out the Eavesdropping Blogger.
Rules for dialogue writing abound. Here's one agent's advice on using dialogue tags besides "said" and "asked," and for some examples of dialogue, check out the Eavesdropping Blogger.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Take Your Writing From Good to Great: Figurative Language Sets Writers Apart
Figurative language is what separates the adequate from the inspired when it comes to writing. The words and phrases that use imagination and creativity to describe, emphasize, or explain pump life into the dead body of your writing.
I'd been working on straight-forward articles for some magazines, but when I finished the first drafts, I was dissatisfied. They were boring and adequate - just no-frills explanations. To make them interesting, I added fresh figurative language to surprise and entertain the reader. I had built my body ala Dr. Frankenstein and now I had to dress it up - give it some eyebrows, lipstick, and a nice purse.
Some examples of figurative language:
Metaphors - a literal comparison. "Horseradish flavor is a pistol-whip to the face."
Similes - a comparison using like or as in the phrasing: "I felt like a 24-hour grocery store at the Apocalypse, understocked and trying to keep the customers from rioting."
Hyperbole - an exaggeration for effect. "Open the windows when grinding horseradish or the EPA may show up at your door with a hazmat squad.
Understatement - Mark Twain- "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." I would say so if he's alive to comment. Or "I found having the knife plunged into my chest slightly annoying."
Onomatopoeia - Creating words to mimic sounds like the comics or the old Batman and Robin from the 70s. Pow, bang, splat, ruff, meow. Hmmm. Huh? Grrrr.
By Tricia Grissom
I'd been working on straight-forward articles for some magazines, but when I finished the first drafts, I was dissatisfied. They were boring and adequate - just no-frills explanations. To make them interesting, I added fresh figurative language to surprise and entertain the reader. I had built my body ala Dr. Frankenstein and now I had to dress it up - give it some eyebrows, lipstick, and a nice purse.
Some examples of figurative language:
Metaphors - a literal comparison. "Horseradish flavor is a pistol-whip to the face."
Similes - a comparison using like or as in the phrasing: "I felt like a 24-hour grocery store at the Apocalypse, understocked and trying to keep the customers from rioting."
Hyperbole - an exaggeration for effect. "Open the windows when grinding horseradish or the EPA may show up at your door with a hazmat squad.
Understatement - Mark Twain- "Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." I would say so if he's alive to comment. Or "I found having the knife plunged into my chest slightly annoying."
Onomatopoeia - Creating words to mimic sounds like the comics or the old Batman and Robin from the 70s. Pow, bang, splat, ruff, meow. Hmmm. Huh? Grrrr.
By Tricia Grissom
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