If I had to describe myself, it would be in a word that has many meanings with a complexity which falls off the tongue.
A word made up of many elements, is deceptive in appearance, and creates an illusion from the imagination.
My word would be Phantasmagoric. ~Summer Ross

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Word to the writer: "Metamorphosis"

This is the fifth and final post in my series- If you have missed one of the posts check out my upper right hand corner side bar for the others and click ------------------------->>


 Revision can be hell! But the process can be fun as well. Use this step to go back and play with your writing. Car enthusiasts re-due cars, make them shine and run, and then show them off to people. Writers rework sentences, we construct, we create new things.


 So here is my final advice:


 What can you do with your writing?


 Use some great writing expressions: Similes, metaphors, alliteration, personification, juxtaposition, puns, hyperboles, and idioms.  I dare you to say that ten times fast. LOL


 Here are some examples: Be careful with cliches try to come up with something new that goes with your story.


 Simile: (like is usually used)
     Emily swims like a fish moving up stream.

Metaphor: (Shows a likeness of two separate things)
      Love is a rose


 Alliteration: (Use of the same letter ongoing)
      "Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."


Personification: (the giving of human traits)
      The window winked at me.


Juxtaposition: (placing things side by side)  In writing this one is hard for prose. Its kind of like two objects that are opposite one another hence the 'side by side' almost like an oxymoron. It works better in poetry though.
      She felt pleasantly angry.   (pleasant and angry oppose each other)


Pun: (I'm not good at these so I got this off a site that gave examples)
     "They called him the king of the dentists because he specialized in crowns."


Hyperbole: (Mostly used in poetry, it helps make a point)
     The bag weighed a ton


Idiom: ( we have an idom blogfest coming up check out my blogfest tab, this is word play probably better for dialogue, I also found one online because I am not good at these kinds of examples either.)
     idiom: "He really went to town on that issue."
     Idionatic usage: "he not only went, he apparently hasn't come back yet."


Toy with your sentences and have fun with them! When you are done playing- think about one more submission to a critique partner/group and then try for publication if you are so inclined.


 

16 comments:

Kittie Howard said...

Thank you for a super series. Learned a lot, thank you!

Amparo Ortiz said...

AWESOME post!! You really break it down in an easy-to-follow way. Yep--consider this baby bookmarked :D

Unknown said...

Really loved this post, Summer. Great stuff!

Old Kitty said...

Thank you for these very user friendly samples and definitions!! I have such problems trying to define idioms and juxtapositions so these are really helpful for me, thank you! Take care
x

LTM said...

this is exactly what I'm planning to do w/my current MS that's really more a WIP (have fun/toy with the sentences). Thanks, Summer~ :o)

Carolyn V. said...

Oh yeah, hate the revisions! Great post. I love how you've separated them (because they can all get so confusing)!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Great wrap-up of the series, Summer!

Mysti said...

Those are great examples. Thanks for posting--I love to be creative with wording.

I try to make similes and such match the personalities of my characters. For example, my current male hero is a musician, so he often describes things in a musical way. In one love scene of "A Ranger's Tale", he describes his lovemaking like this : "We found a rhythm as sweet as a symphony of strings, moving together in perfect harmony."

Golden Eagle said...

Very helpful post! I like the examples you used.

This was a great series, Summer!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Terrific series, Summer.

Loved all the examples you used. Many of us don't understand what each one and the examples really help.

Michael

Unknown said...

Love the post, Summer.
Your examples were clear and helpful.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Great advice. It's good to push our writing to new levels.

Jules said...

A job well done and I read them all :) Now do I get my gold fairy star or is there a test.

BTW it is not as easy as you make it sound :D
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Summer Ross said...

Jules- you are right- it takes practice.

erica and christy said...

Thanks for all the examples!

I have a virtual blogger friend who delights in puns. Mostly, I don't know what he's talking about...sigh...
erica

Carol Kilgore said...

Great tips! I'm editing...so thanks :)

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