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The Art of Using Literary Devices and Techniques
Guest Post by Melissa Donovan When I first learned about alliteration in a writing class, I couldn’t believe there was a word for it. I used it in my poetry all the time! Then I learned about anastrophe and deus ex machina and I began to discover a whole world of literary devices and techniques. […]
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3 Vs of Fiction: Voice
In this 3-part series, “The 3 Vs of Fiction,” we have discussed the first Vs of writing contemporary fiction, vision; tomorrow, will be vulnerability. Voice is the way you write something, how it comes out when you allow your personality to populate the characters on the page. There are two main ideas when you discuss […]
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Sentences: Control of Voice
Creating the voice you want for your story or novel begins with Word Choices. It continues with control of your sentences. I emphasize control because many writers–well, they just write. Without consideration of sentence structures. Sentences, as the basic building block of the written word, need careful attention. You can write long, short, simple, complex, […]
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Voice Begins with Word Choices
Voice begins with the right choice of words Each story or novel has its own diction, or the group of words that could be used for this story. For example, a historical fiction would have different word choices than a romantic comedy. Of course, there’s lots of overlap, but each story has certain words that […]
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Developing Your Writer’s Voice
Design Star Finds Voice Last night, I watched HGTV crown the new “Design Star,” Meg Caswell. I had watched some throughout the season and the judge’s commentary always made me think of the writer’s voice. One of the challenges of the Design Star is to meld entertainment and solid interior design, making information fun. While […]
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Long and Short: Sentences
Importance of Sentence Variety My niece was here this weekend and we talked about her college writing experience. She said they try to change her habitual writing of high school into something more sophisticated. For example, they eschew the five-paragraph essay, rightly so. Instead, they look for more sophisticated structures. But when I teach writing, […]