Writing stuff

Zara Altair made a list of figurative language elements, which I have shown at the end of this post. It's taken from an excellent post on the ProWritingAid website that is well worth studying.

          The tool of alliteration is under attack for calling attention to the author. Once some authority makes such a sweeping charge, novice writers usually become so sensitive to it that they not only toss the tool away, they criticize other authors for using it. Alliteration, understatement, simile, and the rest, are elements that authors use to make their stories interesting. Terrible trouble is required these days as the thing to grab a reader's attention. But it's not the only thing.

          To hold a reader, the writing just has to be interesting, and that is pass/fail: It either is or is not. Readers vary by what keeps them interested. Setups and payoffs are the primary tools for this, but I, for one, am jaded by terrible trouble; it has gotten predictable and boring. I want interesting, which includes trouble in its various kinds and degrees, of course, but also includes elements from Altair's list to support the story, the characters, and the theme.

          Should authors abandon even one of Altair's 22 tools just because some authority made a rule? No. It is irresponsible to poison the well and say that any of these figurative language elements call attention to the writer. Anyone can find something to criticize about anything. The real problem is overuse because that does call attention to the writing, not the writer or the story. We say "writtenese" not "writerese," and that's an important distinction.

          For every author, the words come out of the faucet in a unique way that is called the author's style. It is wrong to make authors (especially pantsers) so sensitive that they warp their style. The sensitivities should bubble up only when editing, and repeated editing will gradually make the style cleaner and richer, but not different.

          As examples, I confess that the second paragraph of this post came out of the faucet as, "The literary tool of alliteration...", and I had to change it. But the phrases "toss the tool" and "Altair's 22 tools" I kept as-is because no literary bully can convince me to cut the memory aid of alliteration, especially in an instructional post. 

          When editing, stretch yourself and examine your text for each of the following language elements. If it serves the story, characters, or theme, use it. If it calls attention to itself, drop it. The result will be a text that people re-read every so often with pleasure as they discover new treasures. And that stretching will make you grow as a writer as you find which of the tools you are good at, and which ones you don't favor. This will bring even more of your personality out of the faucet and make you a better editor. It's a delicious cycle.

1. Simile

2. Metaphor

3. Metonymy

4. Synecdoche

5. Personification

6. Onomatopoeia

7. Oxymoron

8. Hyperbole

9. Allusion

10. Idiom

11. Imagery

12. Symbolism

13. Consonance

14. Alliteration

15. Assonance

16. Irony

17. Sarcasm

18. Litotes

19. Pun

20. Anaphora

21. Tautology

22. Understatement