SeniorEnglish

LiteraryTechniques

Inyournarratives,youmustemployliterarytechniquestoaugmentyourstory.

Imagery oneofthestrongestdeviceswhereintheauthoruseswordsandphrasesto
creatementalimagesforthereaderandappealtothereaderssense.
Youmustuseimageryinyournarrative!
The light through the sitting room windows is charcoal-stained and warmly metallic. Cold city air with a
thousand smells imbedded in every molecule seeps past the cracks. Katie Forsythe, Wider Than A Mile

onomatopoeiawhenawordspronunciationimitatesitssound.
How they clang, and clash, and roar! Edgar Allan Poe, The Bells

FigurativeDevicesyoumustusetwoinyournarrative.
metaphor acomparisonoftwounlikethings.
"Life is a gift, and I don't intend on wasting it." Jack from Titanic

simile ametaphorthatuseslikeorastocomparetheunlikethings.
You, with your words like knives and swords and weapons that you use against me Taylor Swift

hyperbole intentionaloverthetopexaggerationoroverstatement
So chauffeur chauffeur come and take me away, cause I've been standin' in this line for like five whole
days Lupe Fiasco

personificationametaphorthatgiveshumantraits(qualities,feelings,action,or
characteristics)tononlivingobjects(things,colors,qualities,orideas).
"Opportunity may knock, but it seldom nags." - David Mamet opportunity is an abstract concept that
Mamet gives the ability to knock and nag.

HowtoCreateLiteraryTechniques
1. Highlightthreesignificantemotional/narrativemomentsinyourstory.
2. Decideifthemomentwouldbebetterservedwithadetaileddescriptionora
comparison.
ifadescription,youwanttoemployimagerymakeyourreaderexperienceit.
~describethesounds,smells,tastes,sights,physicalfeelings.
~thiswouldbeagreatplaceforonomatopoeia

ifacomparison,youwanttoconnectyourreactionstotheexperiencetoaseemingly
unconnectedthing/experience.
~Isolatethedefiningcharacteristicsoftheexperience.
~Thinkofotherobjects/experiencesthatsharesimilarcharacteristics.
~Detailtheinitialcomparisonwithacompleteimage.
~techniquestousewithcomparison:metaphor,simile,hyperbole,
personification