After coming up with the trigger for MikeMunsil's Liberty Hall Flash Challenge #3, I started to think about some of the compelling uses I've seen.
"The Tell-tale Heart", Edgar Allen Poe
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", James Thurber
And to a lesser extent in the Adam West Batman TV series.
Onomatopoeia can be used in such a way that makes it seem trite. I was impressed by the flash challenge responses and the way they dealt with this and the other literary devices in the trigger (hyperbole and dichotomy). I was also impressed to see people using devices such as similie and metaphor and alegory.
So I guess the point of that is:
How much do you think about literary devices when you sit down to write? Do you think about them ahead of time or just go with the flow?
How about when you are reading?
When I'm reading, well, that depends on what I'm reading and why I'm reading it. If it's for school, I'd better be paying attention to literary devices because there's going to be a test on that! If it's for me, I generally don't notice unless they're poorly done or I've read the book more than once. I tend to think that most of them are most effective when they're all but invisible.
Sometimes I check a dictionary for a spelling and find out that I got it right already, it's just the font or something that makes it look odd to me. The same thing happens with other elements of the craft. Sometimes I notice something and decide that it works well. Other times I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote it (or failed to write it, which also happens).
In the end, you have to rely on your instincts and experience as a writer to get the story down. No amount of playing with theory is going to get the story written, that only helps you identify things that you need to fix.
I'm with Jaina on reading. I only notice if they stand out.
And literary devices, like a lot of other things, are only effective if they're not overused. It weakens your writing if you try to force them in just because you want to have literary devices in your writing. If it doesn't flow, it doesn't fit.
[This message has been edited by Jeraliey (edited April 20, 2005).]
Allusion
Simile
Aliteration
Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole in dialogue or humor
Rhyme
Repetition
Analogy
Irony
Paradox
Parallelisms
Understatement
Literary devices I unintentionally use while writing:
Aliteration
Onomatopoeia
Rhyme
Repetition
Metonymy
Literary devices I intentionally avoid while writing:
Metaphor
Hyperbole outside of dialogue or humor
I refuse to use allegory.
Perhaps our choices say more about us than about the device.
[This message has been edited by hoptoad (edited April 21, 2005).]
i would definitely agree with the people who said that as long as it doesn't interrupt flow, it's ok. but i'll take it one step further and say that if it AIDS flow, USE it. and a metaphor, when placed just so, and not permitted to go on for too long, can fit excellently into a place where you need to alter that flow, but not do so in a jarring way.
of course, in a humor peice, proper flow is lack of flow. not literally, of course, but i think you should get what i mean.
However, the fanciful imagery in speculative fiction is generally supposed to be taken literally. Therefore, metaphor use is potentially confusing, and that confusion can break the reader's trust in the author.
Since simile can produce almost the same effect as metaphor without mistakenly being taken literally, in writing speculative fiction it's better to use simile than metaphor.
However, I think there are times when thinking about them before writing can be inspirational. If I don't think about using a device, I probably won't use it.
quote:
What is the difference between a 'literary device' and a 'literary contrivance'?
Aren't they both 'machines' employed by the writer to move the story along?
quote:
I mean where do you draw the line? Why avoid some and not others? Fashion?
What makes it legitimate?
It is great that we write what we write, but just as we practice grammar and punctuation and style and POV and tense, there is also room to think about how and when we use certain techniques and to practice using them consciously so their effect is stronger when we just let things flow.
[That may just be a bunch of blathering, so feel free to ignore it. ]
Am I the only one who doesn't care a farthing (what, btw, IS a farthing worth? Is it 25 cents more than a nearthing?) about how the elements in my stories are labeled in English 101?
I write, and I don't ever think about whether it's metaphore, allegory, first person present omnivore omnipotent.
I worry about good grammar, having a balance between dialog, action and description, and whether my story is engaging.
The rest I could care less about. I shall leave it to the pundits to do an autopsy on the physical elements that go into my writing.
I don't care at all how the elements of my stories will be labeled. What I care about is helping readers enjoy reading my stories, same as you.
But even if you don't remember the names of various devices, it's a good idea to know about them. When used properly (and not in excess), they add a lot of flavor to a story.
I just read a quote (but I can't find it now) which went something like, "Why are writer's the only artists who think they don't need training?" I mean, when I'm singing for an audience I don't think about support, or vowal shape, or intonation, vibrato, dynamics (fortissimo or merely forte) or any of the other terms or techniques. But you'd better be darn certain that I think about all of them when I'm practising. Knowing the term means that I can address issues with any of them more precisely with my teacher. For us, that's our fellow writers or critiquers. The goal with both is for the final product to be seamless, but I think knowing which tools you're using is important.
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited April 21, 2005).]
We mistakenly think we can write without learning about writing because everyone knows the language.
We mistakently think the hardest part about writing is being creative.
The work it takes to write well is a million times harder than the work it takes to learn the jargon of writing.
I've only read one successful writer who wrote poorly but was so darned creative he could hook readers with nothing more than his incredible imagination. That writer was the late Phillip K. Dick. So you should learn to use and talk about the tools of writing.
Unless you believe you are the new Dick.
I just realised this time around though, that if you listen closely to the beginning of Michael Jacksons Liberian Girl, you'll hear this word spoken twice as the intro.
Dont ask me how I remembered that. I just did.