Ode Poetry: How to Write an Ode Poem

how to write an ode poem

The ode poem is an ages-old poetry form that praises and celebrates people, places, things, and ideas. Poets have written odes to Grecian urns, the west wind, the hymen, and to childhood intimations of immortality. If you’re looking to write a poem in praise of something, you might want to learn how to write an…

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How to Write Flash Fiction Stories

microfiction short fiction writing course

Like a lightning strike, flash fiction stories can be over in an instant—radically altering the terrain of the reader’s imagination. These bite-sized stories take a lot of style, skill, and effective word choice to pull off. Many writers try to conquer the flash fiction form in their writing careers, but the short-short story requires lots…

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Satire Definition: How to Write Satire

how to write satire

If there’s any genre of literature designed to make fun of humankind, it’s satire. In both prose and poetry, writers have employed satirical techniques as far back as Ancient Egypt, utilizing the conventions and elements of satire to write about our follies. Satire writing has become more popular in recent years. This is partially due…

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Sonnet Poems: How to Write a Sonnet

how to write a sonnet

The sonnet is a poetry form that poets have wielded for centuries—from Petrarch and Shakespeare to Marilyn Nelson and Terrance Hayes. These 14-line poems use restrictions of length and rhythm to deliver lyrical, captivating musings on themes like love and death. Poets interested in short-form work can gain a lot from learning how to write…

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Word Play: Examples of a Play on Words

wordplay definition

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…

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Braided Essays and How to Write Them

how to write a braided essay

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…

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Flat Character vs. Round Character: Definitions and Examples

flat vs rounded character

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…

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10 Types of Nonfiction Books and Genres

types of nonfiction writing

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…

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Pun Intended: A Look at Pun Examples in Literature

pun examples in literature

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…

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