fbpx
Writers.com

The first writing school on the Internet

Juxtaposition Definition: What is Juxtaposition in Literature?

by Leave a Comment

Juxtaposition occurs any time a writer places multiple ideas or images next to each other, without drawing a clear relationship between them. It is, in other words, the art of encouraging inference, because juxtaposition encourages the reader to draw their own conclusions about the relationships between different things. Juxtaposition is a wildly underrated tool in […]

Learn to Write! 8 Tips on Learning How to Write

by Leave a Comment

Learning to write is a process, one that requires consistent hard work and determination—and perhaps some magic! But, as with any other skill, it’s important to work hard on the right thing. Instead of providing a list of pointers on how to learn to write for general purposes, this guide will offer eight key tips […]

Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words

by 4 Comments

It goes without saying that writers are drawn to language, but because we love words so much, the English language is filled with word play. By interrogating the complexities of language—homophones, homographs, words with multiple meanings, sentence structures, etc.—writers can explore new possibilities in their work through a play on words. It’s easiest to employ […]

Braided Essays and How to Write Them

by 2 Comments

When I first started reading and writing creative nonfiction, I was particularly struck by the “braided essay”—its poeticism, its interlacing movements, its endless possibilities. The beauty of a braid lies in the way it weaves distinct strands into a coherent whole, the way individual strands intermittently appear and disappear. If you’ve ever felt like your […]

Irony Definition: Different Types of Irony in Literature

by Leave a Comment

What is irony? Well, it’s like rain on your wedding day. It’s a free ride, when you’ve already paid. ’90s radio is helpful here. Okay; but what is irony? It can often be easier to point to specific ironies than to find a definition of irony itself that hits home. Irony involves contradiction of our […]

Writing Styles: What is Style in Writing?

by 1 Comment

Writing style may be a bit hard to point to directly, but something clearly separates Hemingway from Steinbeck, Atwood from LeGuin, or Keats from Wordsworth. Though two given writers might dwell on similar themes, each writer will express a unique writing style, through elements like word choice, narrative structure, and the author’s own voice. So […]

Interview: Barbara Henning’s “Ferne: A Detroit Story”

by 2 Comments

Equal parts biography, fiction, and an ode to family and Detroit, Barbara Henning‘s Ferne: a Detroit Story captures the Midwestern magic of mid-century Michigan. Barbara retells the life of her mother, Ferne, through a series of vignettes, news clippings, photographs, and biographical details, fleshing out the contours of Ferne’s life from the 1920s through the 50s. […]

Flat Character vs. Round Character: Definitions and Examples

by 6 Comments

Every fictional person that populates books, movies, and plays falls into one of two categories: flat characters and round characters. Flat and round characters each fill important roles in works of fiction, and while this isn’t the only way to categorize fictional characters, it’s a useful distinction to help guide your own character writing. What […]

10 Types of Nonfiction Books and Genres

by 1 Comment

From journalism to instruction manuals, travel guides to historical CNF, nonfiction is one of the broadest and most versatile categories of writing. Indeed, we encounter many types of nonfiction genres in our everyday lives, including newspapers, social media, letters, reports, instruction manuals, and travel guides. Rather than listing the numerous types of nonfiction in its […]

Pun Intended: A Look at Pun Examples in Literature

by 5 Comments

What do you call a sandwich made of wordplay? A pun-ini. The English language abounds with pun examples in literature. From Chaucer to Shakespeare, from the Romantics to contemporary poetry, writers have twisted language to explore new (and often hilarious) possibilities with words. We generally consider puns to have humorous intent. However, The pun in […]
MENU