Creative Nonfiction
Writing Without Limits: Understanding the Lyric Essay
In literary nonfiction, no form is quite as complicated as the lyric essay. Lyrical essays explore the elements of poetry and creative nonfiction in complex and experimental ways, combining the subject matter of autobiography with poetry’s figurative devices and musicality of language. For both poets and creative nonfiction writers, lyric essays are a gold standard…
Read MoreFiction vs. Nonfiction: What is the Difference Between Fiction and Nonfiction?
Works of prose are typically divided into one of two categories: fiction vs. nonfiction. A work of fiction might resemble the real world, but it certainly did not happen in real life. Nonfiction, on the other hand, should not contain any fiction, as the writer’s credibility comes from the truthfulness of the story. Any writer…
Read MoreWhat is Purple Prose? The Case Against Overly Ornate Writing
Ah, purple prose: that ornate room of language: that jeweled scabbard with which the writer unsheaths their mightiest thoughts, decorated and aglitter in the light of passing eyes; so wrought with its own exigence, it twists the reader’s mind, so labyrinthine. If you didn’t understand that paragraph, I didn’t either. It’s not good writing, but…
Read MoreWriting Styles: What is Style in Writing?
Writing styles may be hard to define, but something separates Hemingway from Steinbeck, Atwood from LeGuin, or Keats from Wordsworth. Though two given writers might dwell on similar themes, every writer expresses a unique writing style, conveyed through elements like word choice, narrative structure, and the author’s own voice. But what is style in writing?…
Read MoreCharacter Development Definition: A Look at 40 Character Traits
For any work of fiction to resemble real life, it has to portray real character development with a convincing character arc. Additionally, those characters need to have believable character traits, which evolve as the character grows. Stories are about people—even if your main character is a cat, a tree, or some other nonhuman entity. Great…
Read MoreCommon Rhetorical Devices List: The Art of Argument
Rhetorical devices are techniques in writing and speech that try to persuade the audience. A rhetorical device uses language to shape ideas into arguments, convincing the reader through a plethora of literary strategies. Why study rhetorical devices? Understanding how writers wield words to persuade you will help you read critically and carefully. And, if you’re…
Read MoreWhat is the Setting of a Story? 5 Functions of Setting in Literature
A short story or novel without a setting is one without context—it occurs nowhere and at no particular time. But every person and everything in our everyday world occurs somewhere at some given time. As in real life, characters are connected in some way, or ways, to a given place. They’re always aware of where…
Read MoreParallelism Definition: Writing With Parallel Structure
Parallelism, or parallel structure, describes a type of sentence structure common in the English language. When poets and prose stylists effectively employ grammatical parallelism, they strengthen the connections between ideas and objects, embedding relationships in syntax. It might seem silly to write an entire article on a singular sentence structure. Writing parallelism certainly isn’t difficult,…
Read MoreWhat is Point of View in Literature? Exploring Narrative Point of View
You might not notice it, but most published writing contains a narrative point of view. This includes every book, poem, email, instruction manual, even some street signs and cereal boxes. For us writers, defining the point of view of a story or poem is essential: it’s an important part of making our writing “believable.” Like…
Read MoreWhat is Mood in Literature? Creating Mood in Writing
When we talk about the different feelings that a work of writing evokes, we’re talking about the types of mood in literature. Creative writers are experts at drawing out specific sensations in their writing. When a poem or story leaves you feeling elated, nervous, hopeful, melancholy, or any other particular emotion, then the writer has…
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