DISCLAIMER: I have brought grammatical errors, typos and cheetos. You may have the first two. I finished them cheetos on my way over.

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Hello writers,

sevvy is back once again to yammer your eyes off about writing. Are we excited? No? Why not? Did you have your fifth cup of coffee yet? No? I think that's why you lack enthusiasm with life! Go get (more) coffee and catch up! Ignoring my caffeine intoxication, this post aims to discuss figurative language and how it can prop your story up to the heights of Olympus, err... maybe Everest... Or Mt. Mediocrely Modest (good god, stop it sevvy.). Of course, I wont be able to discuss all of them since there are way too many (and I am lazy and I should really do something with my life). But I will be giving you some of the more popular ones for your consideration and I might endeavour to add some more as inspiration or procrastination hits me.

To experienced writers, this wont be anything new; in fact, it might not even be that new to the wet-behind-the-ears writers either. I think we discussed figurative speech during elementary school... but I am never too sure because my brain is mash potatoes. But anywho, I wanted to have this discussion, so (1) this can be a reference when I review a story a little lean in the figurative language department and (2) because I've read a lot of stories in AFF that doesn't explore the use of these tools.

As I've said this will probably not be new to you, but I believe one encounters the figurative language as a reader, and sometimes that switch from reader to writer doesn't go over as well as we would like. So maybe you have these tools are in your toolshed, but you don't use them, not because you don't know how to... but because you forgot you had them in the first place. So this article will help you remember some of those nice English/Literature classes you've had on those days you didn't skip school (hopefully).

Let's begin with a general definition:

Figurative language is language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. When a writer uses literal language, he or she is simply stating the facts as they are. Figurative language, in comparison, uses exaggerations or alterations to make a particular linguistic point.

Figurative language, in my opinion, is when writers go to play. I think it's what differentiates a writer from someone who writes. It's your way with words, or how you manuevre words to make that incorporeal meaning inside your head manifest itself into a tangible experience.

Anyone can write:

He watches her peel an apple.

But it's the writer who works with words and show you:

To him, she is like the apple at the mercy of her own knife. Her peelings slowly unfurling to the turn of knife. Then in his head, there is red satin pooled around her, revealing flesh white skin, prone to bruising at the gentlest caress of the wind.

Because everyone can write a story, but the figurative speech you use is most likely original to you. It's what gives your story character, and it's when you exert the most control in your writing.

So you want your readers to feel the cold? Don't settle for the simple:

She felt cold.

Always go for the jugular:

The chill of the wind blowing at her face made her shiver. Her shoulders stiffen, locked shut. She hobbled like her knees knew no longer how to bend. The cold was on her tips of her nose, fingers and toes, crawling slowly, down her flimsy spring jacket because she woke up with this bubble of spring hope... but no, in Canada, winter hanged around like an ex-boyfriend you broke up with last night. You already endured. You already gave it your all and now all you want is for him to just walk away and leave you alone. You have given up on him, but alas, much to your chagrin, he hasn't given up on you. He threads snowflakes in your hair.

Goddamit, Winter, I am so over you!

As you can see the difference in length can be a bit daunting. This is why novels fill up word count so easily. This is also an example of how things can easily lose focus and then you have a run away metaphor that you may or may not want. (That is when you get to kill your darlings, but that's another story, you excitable murderous child, you.). But as you can see the generic "cold" is fleshed out according to my character's experience of it and gives you more than the superficial feeling of cold but an insight of how the experience functions in the main narrative (which I think would work for romance because it is already referring to themes about hope, and broken relationships).

So yeah, figurative langauge is likes the weights to your writing exercises, and at the beginning, you can definitely overestimate or underestimate what you can use. But like exercise, I really think you need to stick with it to see improvements. I can't emphasize enough that figurative language is the usual suspect when someone tells you that they like the way you write, because how you experience the world is unique to you and figurative speech is the way to share it. It's usually the apt metaphor that the reader notices and admires. Of course, they can like the plot behind your story, but if your storyline isn't brain hemorrhagingly fresh and new, it's your expression that usually hooks the reader.

Think Shakespeare and his impossibly many metaphors that don't express anything new, but his magic, his persuasiveness is in his words: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet".

So after the unnecessarily long introduction, we'll try to get into the meat of the subject. The most common figurative language in prose are similes, metaphors, personification and hyperbole, and as you can see those terminologies are most probably familiar to you.

• Simile makes a comparison, showing similarities in two different obejects. It draws the resemblance with tags "like" or "as". Using similes attracts attention and appeals directly to the senses of readers, encouraging imagination to comprehend what is being communicated. It inspires a life-like quality in our daily tasks quality in your narrative and your characters. Simile allows readers to relate your writing to their personal experience, so when you say,

She is like a summer's day, that one cruel day when you spent stewing in your own sweat, the grass curled from the heat and giving off an acrid scent like cabbages boiled for too long. She was like that. A summer's day you waited for so long and at first dazzled you with a bright shining sun and a warmth that leaves damp kisses on your skin, but her heat, these days are like that summer's day you regret. One with too much sweat, stinging sun burns and a wish for a night's reprieve.

So this example makes use of the readers experience with summer. I personally wrote this to contradict Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18". LOL But yes, similes offer variety in our way of thinking and offers a new perspective. I am summer's child. I love summer, but this comparison to sweat and sun burns is kind of gross, making summer, and the "she" rather unattractive.

• Metaphor makes implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. Metaphors draw out comparison without the identifying tags and communicates complex images and emotions, where similes directly appeals to compare, metaphors are offers the comparison for review. Metaphors are more subtle and invites your readers to think. If you use it in dialogues, this will give your characters life-likeness since metaphors pepper everyday language through conventional idioms, like night owl, eager beaver, cut the cheese. Like similes metaphors offer up imagery and encourage imagination. Whereas similes help out in understanding, metaphors, I believe, asks readers for their interpretation..

People come and go. Some are cigarette breaks, and others are forest fires. You were a forest fire that started from careless embers of a cigarette break. It's funny really. You bummed a smoke, and I felt an odd begrudging feeling. But you were all grin and gums, so I obliged. Begrudgingly.

You had the careless grace of an afterthought. Did you know, Jiyong? Did you know? That you were a forest fire, and that you were always asking me to put you out?

The slant of your nape as I held up the lighter for you, the other hand protecting the short petal of flame so you can dip your cancer stick... that used to be mine. You had your careless Saturn fingers slung around your jeans pocket... and your eyes... when I finally looked at them were the galaxy. You are a forest fire, that cackles as you burn through, and rage by. Your heat consuming, and careless. You are a little ty er, and I couldn't stop you until you had burned down every kindling you could get your hands on. I could only watch your laugh, that were gravel scraping at your throat.

You smoke weed like it's nothing. Held hands with Morphine. Danced with Ecstasy. Dreamed with LSD. You little flitty piece of . You can't even commit to your poison.

You are a stumbling tumble weed and I love you. You forest fire, you that consumed my sanity as fuel, consumed my soul as the wilted grass that it was.

Similes and metaphors are quite similar, but I think metaphors have the subtlety that gives it the poetic, dreamy feel. I actually liked this example. I've dabbled a bit in free-verse poetry, so I enjoy metaphors... a lot.

• Personification is a figure of speech in which an animal, thing, or an idea takes on human characteristics. This device is useful to create characters of your setting and background. As a tip, a full-blown story has a vivid setting that reacts and interacts with your characters. Their "personality" would be the socio-political norms, the weather, the "crowd" face.

Gotham City is ruthless, fearless, and chews out good spirit right out of ya. What? Ya have hope? Ya think ya special, precious lil' Jimmy in ya shiny armor? Gotham spits on ya, but not before it gives ya a chance to run before it breaks ya legs. Then Gotham gonna spit ya face, Jimmy. Right in ya eyeball, sweetbutt.

Gotham is ruthless, lil Jimmy. Gotham eats ya for dinner, chew at ya until ya taste bad. Then Gotham will sit on a crapper, and ya out. Ain't no one told ya? That's ya future, Mista' Jim Gordon.

This example is in Harley Quinn's voice, if you're curious (I wrote it, non-canon, of course). Here Gotham looms like the ultimate villain and this is how Gotham creates such a presence. I think I have never really read anything here that have successfully made their setting as a palpable presence like Batman's Gotham City, or 300's Sparta. But yeah, also keep in mind you can use personification by using action verbs to objects like the "wind howls" (even if human's don't technically howl, it's still personification), or the "sky slobbers sleet". Like metaphors and similes this gives your writing personality in how unique you express sentiments. Personification gives vividness to expression and creates a sense of "human perspective". Your text becomes easier to relate to, because your readers would find it easier to relate to humans or those with human-like traits.

• Hyperbole is a device we commonly employ in daily speech. It involves dramatic exageration like "I can eat a horse!" or "I am dying in shame." This adds... you guessed it... drama. Drama and emphasis. I do not like hyperbole because overstatements are usually insincere, but this is really useful for parodies. Since I am lazy not a fan of hyberbole I will not attempt writing an example. Have some excerpts from Jonathan's Swift's "A Modest Proposal" where he encourages aristocrats to just eat babies of the poor! It will solve overpopulation and waste... and more poor people:

“I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust.”

It's not obviously hyperbole, as people can read this straight and a strange appeal to cannibalism, but it's not. It's hyperbolic. PROTIP: Please if you use the word literally in your writing, make sure it's literal. Check if say, you write, he can literally fart to the moon, or eat a horse.

THAT'S NOT LITERAL. IT'S FIGURATIVE, PEOPLE. FIGURATIVE. If you can't do it in real life, it's not literal.

• Allusion say it with me, ALLUSION. Not illusion. Ah! It's a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not discuss the reference. It's an in passing comment like Eve's daughter, Quixotic Romance, Adonis, etc. I am rather a fan of allusions. It simplifies complex ideas and emotions. It also reveals literary, political, cultural influences of the author. I think I have a lot of biblical allusions, since I grew up faithful to Catholic Doctrines (not anymore). I have also strange WWII allusions and Japanese references... because I just read a lot about those two topics. If readers catch on the allusion, it would mean I have widened the overlap of our common knowledge and in turn, would mean ideas are transmitted easier.

She slips the key in and what she opened is Pandora's box. All around her photographs of her from periods of her life marked by her haphazard decisions on chopping off her hair, or let them hang in Medusa's pride. Her pictures like a reel before the music starts and the credits roll. And the door swings revealing the end of her life.

Okay, so this example I wrote haphazardly, so don't hate me TOO much. Allusions are Pandora, Medusa, and some movie references.

Congratulations, you have reached the end of my ramblings. I somewhat hope this proves to be useful to some of you. I think the biggest thing about writing and figurative speech is you keep experimenting. Don't settle on the story you want to tell, but how you tell it, how you deliver the message. I think everyone can write. The thing about taking on the writer mantle is you become more away of your tools, and you use them. You use them to wrestle the figment of your imagination and cram them on other people's head... well, that's a visual!

Like I've said, this is the tip of the literary iceberg. I have the privilege and the resulting headache of studying rhetorical tools that works well in writing fiction too. If I will write an article about asyndetons... well, that's another story.

Your thoughts are my precious, and you needs to gives it to sevvu. /channels inner Golum

As always, happy writing.

Yours,

secretseven