by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jun 29, 2017 | Writing
Foil In fiction, a foil is usually a secondary character whose traits contrast or oppose qualities of the protagonist. The foil is created to highlight certain characteristics of the protagonist. Foils and protagonists aren’t necessarily opposites. The foil could be...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jun 22, 2017 | Writing
Hyperbaton Hyperbaton is a literary device in which words, phrases, and clauses are transposed from their usual order in a sentence. However, the unfamiliar order retains the gist of the message. These word reversals can be used in dialogue or internal dialogue when a...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jun 15, 2017 | Writing
Aphorism A truth that is said in a quick and witty manner is an aphorism. Aphorisms don’t have to be humorous, but that’s half the reason we like so many of them. And aphorism’s brevity makes their truths easy to remember. An example of this literary device is...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jun 8, 2017 | Writing
Metonymy & Synecdoche Metonymy is a word(s) that stands in for an object or concept originally called by a different name. The Metonymy has some relationship to the meaning of the originally named entity. A woman might call a good-looking man eye candy. The man...
by Zoe M. McCarthy | Jun 1, 2017 | Writing
Malapropism Malapropism is using a word that sounds similar to the right word the writer intended to use. The word comes from the French expression mal a propos, which means inappropriate. Malapropism can be unintentional or intentional. To add humor to a story,...