Words and Stories. Palavras e Histórias.
Writers must make a constant effort to find the best verbs to convey action. It's what Anthony Buckeridge does in the Jennings books. When reading the passages below, notice how vivid the verbs are, how easy it is to visualize the action. Setup: alone in the boarding school classroom, the boys Jennings and Darbishire decide … Continue lendo [Writing tips] Choosing verbs and creating humour
Have you ever hesitated, unsure whether you should write lay or lie, laid or lied? I have, dozens of times. But after thinking a little, I always know the right word to use. And it's all thanks to the excerpt below. This explanation solved my problem with these verbs. And it will solve yours. There … Continue lendo [Writing tips] When to use lay, lie, lied, laid, lain
Last week, a fellow word-lover shared with us his struggle to learn the difference between similes and metaphors. I hope this excerpt will help every visitor who wants to learn those definitions — and learn why to use such figures of speech. A simile is a figure of speech consisting in comparing one thing to … Continue lendo [Writing tips] The difference between similes and metaphors
Isn't Henry Morton Robinson a writer to wonder at? In a passage published before, we have seen him use chess metaphors in a masterful way. Here we will look at some shorter metaphors, and one simile, also from his famous novel The Cardinal (yes, I admit it's his only work I have read). Check how … Continue lendo [Writing tips] Examples of metaphors
We use repetitions to emphasize an idea. But what if instead of repeating the same word, we repeated the same idea — in different words? The effect can be striking. In this short quote, we see an author find no less than eight different ways to say "the past", and use them all to evoke … Continue lendo [Writing tips] A great example of effective repetitions
Beatriz Becker 