Writers and students of creative writing devote countless hours to their craft and are generally eager to publish their work and share it with the world. Students are also often found vying with their classmates for that elusive A+.
The problem is they aren’t alone in this endeavor. Editors have their work cut out, trying to sift through the overwhelming number of submissions they receive. Professors, too, expect high quality essays and writing in return for high grades.
How then, can students and writers improve their chances of successfully publishing their work or getting stellar grades? The answer is to write better. In addition to being well-researched, factual and informative, an academic paper or a piece of creative writing must be written in a style that enhances readability and engagement. A dull, monotonous piece of writing does not attract readers and usually ends up being rejected by editors even if it has a solid storyline and memorable characters.
How to Make Your Writing More Engaging
The following is a list of narrative and literary techniques that can spruce up a piece of writing, make it more interesting, and (just like a whodunnit) keep the reader engaged until the end.
1. Metaphors and Similes
Writers often struggle to find a way to compare two (possibly disparate) things. This is where metaphors and similes come to their rescue. A metaphor is a type of figurative language that states that one thing is the same as another. The connection between the two things referred to in a metaphor might not be obvious to a reader. It associates those two things for the sake of comparison or symbolism, not because they are actually the same. Writers have used metaphors for comparison through the ages. For example:
Prose – The snow was a thick white blanket on the ground.
Poetry – “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players;”
Like metaphors, a simile is a type of figurative language that compares two things using the words “like” or “as.” For example:
Prose – I know that place like the back of my hand.
Poetry – “O my luve’s like a red, red rose, / That’s newly sprung in June’”
2. Hyperbole
This is a type of figurative speech wherein the writer uses extreme and obvious exaggeration for emphasis to make a point or to make a description more humorous and creative. For instance, it is more effective to say “she had an ego the size of a continent” than “she was really egoistic.” Readers understand that hyperbole is an exaggeration and is not meant to be taken literally. For example:
Prose – I thought I was going to die of embarrassment.
Poetry – “I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you / Till China and Africa meet.”
Hyperbole is a part of daily conversation, movies, music, commercials, and TV shows. This figure of speech makes everything more colorful and stimulating and conveys how strongly the writer feels about something.
3. Alliteration and Assonance
Alliteration and assonance are classic techniques in a writer’s toolbox.
The word “alliteration” is derived from the Latin “latira,” which means “letters of the alphabet.” It is a literary device in which words beginning with the same sound are placed close together. For example:
Prose – She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
Poetry – “Betty Botter bought some butter, / But,” she said, “the butter’s bitter;”
Alliteration generally uses consonant sounds at the beginning of words to emphasize their syllables. It is commonly used in poetry to lend a strong rhythm and musical structure to a verse.
It is important to remember that while alliteration is a repetition of letters, it is primarily a repetition of sounds. For example, “falcon’s feet” is alliteration because the beginning sounds of both words are the same, but “cheerful cat” is not, because the beginning sounds are not the same even if the letters are.
The word “assonance” is derived from the Latin word “assonare,” which means “to answer with the same sound.” It involves the repetition of internal vowel sounds in words, phrases, or sentences. For example:
Prose – She fell asleep under the cherry tree.
Poetry – “Hear the mellow wedding bells.”
Assonance can be used in all kinds of writing, but is frequently found in poetry and pop music. Like alliteration, assonance lends rhythm and musicality to verse.
4. Personification
Writers often use words to convey non-literal meanings while making a point or expressing themselves in more creative, colorful, and imaginative ways. Personification – assigning human attributes to non-human or inanimate entities – is one such popular type of figurative language. For example:
Prose – Engaging writing leaps off the page and grips the reader.
(The act of writing is given the human attributes of leaping and gripping.)
Poetry – “Hey Diddle Diddle / The cat and the fiddle, /The cow jumped over the moon; /The little dog laughed / To see such sport, / And the dish ran away with the spoon.”
5. Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device used by authors to give readers hints about future events. It often appears in the early stages of a story, usually in the form of language, imagery, and symbolism. For instance, a detective story might use foreshadowing in an early chapter by mentioning something seemingly inconsequential that later turns out to be a clue. This creates subtle tension and sets readers’ expectations about the eventual unfolding of the story, suggesting but not giving away the outcome.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet also includes numerous instances of foreshadowing. In the Prologue, the reader learns that the lovers will eventually die: “A pair of star-crossed lovers…Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.” While college students are not expected to write the next Romeo and Juliet, foreshadowing is a great technique to make their writing more engaging.
6. Storytelling
Authors throughout the ages have used the power of storytelling to pass on advice, wisdom, and culture to their readers. Most successful writers and speakers spread their messages through stories. Humans tend to seek the stories of people who are, so to say, in the same boat as us; whether it’s how they overcame their fear of heights, took a 6-month long cross-country road trip, or attempted their first public performance. Authors can use storytelling to persuade audiences and drive their point home. Through storytelling, readers will enjoy reading more and the author’s message will be far more memorable.
7. Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions are questions that are asked merely for effect, with no expectations of an answer. For example:
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
”If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
The answer to a rhetorical question is usually obvious or is immediately provided by the questioner. Rhetorical questions are commonly used in creative writing and informal writing; they are less frequently used in academic discourse though its usage here is not entirely unknown. Rhetorical questions are literary devices used to persuade audiences and subtly influence their response to a piece of writing. They are also used for dramatic or humorous effect, especially when accompanied by other figures of speech, such as puns and double entendre.
