Writers create images with words, and the techniques used are called literary devices. Because of the wide variety of literary devices, we will examine them in groups. In this article, we review the literary devices used to compare and contrast. By comparing and contrasting things, the author invites the reader to see a deeper truth. Use these devices to emphasize an idea, a character, or important moment in the story. Analogy An analogy clarifies by comparison. Unlike simile and metaphor, … Read More »

Authors who go the extra mile in research tend to become bestsellers—Patricia Cornwell, Michael Crichton, Dave Berry, Creston Mapes, James A. Michener, David Morrell, Ridley Pearson, Amy Tan, and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Herman Wouk to name a few. Some authors start out as experts, such as: Tess Gerritsen (a physician who writes crime stories featuring a coroner) Linda Fairstein (a former Manhattan Assistant DA who writes crime novels) Timothy Browne, M.D. (a missionary physician who writes inspirational medical thrillers) Frank Zafiro … Read More »

Have you ever read a book and found a glaring factual blunder? They happen. In Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, a character refers to Punch-and-Judy shows. The Punch-and-Judy puppet shows began in the century after the setting of the story. This kind of blunder is an anachronism, a thing out of its time. How do we avoid factual flubs? Research! Yes, great editors help, but ultimately the responsibility for getting the facts straight falls on the author. Discover … Read More »

When characters say exactly what they mean, such as when a character testifies at a trial or answers questions from police during an investigation, there is no subtext. Children, drunks, and those under the influence of sodium pentothal say exactly what’s on their minds without filter or forethought. If characters only say exactly what they mean in every scene, then the dialogue is flat, or on-the-nose. It can be boring and artificial because such directness and honesty ignores human complexity. … Read More »

A story without conflict is not a story. If Jonah had gone directly to Nineveh as God told him to, Jonah would be forgettable. We remember Jonah’s story because he tried to avoid God’s directive by taking a boat somewhere else, got thrown overboard by the boat crew, and a whale swallowed him and spit him out on the shore of Nineveh. Lots of conflicts here. Man versus God. Man versus man. Man versus himself. Man versus Nature. You get … Read More »

We have three forms of dialogue markers to let the reader know which character is speaking: speech tags, action tags, and thought tags. While writers tend to rely heavily on speech tags, the other forms offer variety to the reader and another way to create depth in the story. Speech Tags For 99 percent of the time, the word “said” is the best choice for a speech tag because it registers with the reader but does not distract the reader … Read More »