Power Up Your Prose with Rhetorical Devices

By Suzanne Purvis

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Literary devices add zing to your prose, and give you tools to make literary magic. Suzanne Purvis visits the lecture hall again, to share some tips and thoughts on rhetorical devices. 

Suzanne Purvis is a transplanted Canadian living in the Deep South, where she traded “eh” for “y’all.” An author of long, short, flash fiction, and poetry for both children and adults, she has won several awards including those sponsored by the University of Toronto, RWA, Bethlehem Writers, and Women Who Write. You can find her work in print anthologies, magazines, ezines, and ebooks.

She leads workshops at Lawson Writer’s Academy and for Romance Writers of America, including her popular Sizzling, Scintillating Synopsis, Potent Pitches and Brilliant Blurbs, Revision Boot Camp and now she’s honored to be teaching Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices and More class.

Her next class begins October 1st Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More.

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Take it away Suzanne…

Circle Your Writing with Bookends

By Chris Eboch

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: The opening and closing scenes of a novel have powerful storytelling potential. Chris Eboch returns to the lecture hall today to share some thoughts on tips on bookending your novel.

Chris Eboch is the author of over 60 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her writing craft books include Advanced Plotting and You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. Learn more at her website (see her For Writers page for critique rates), or her Amazon page, or check out her writing tips at her Write Like a Pro! blog. 

Chris also writes novels of suspense and romance for adults under the name Kris Bock. Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. 

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Take it away Chris…

Three Types of Irony in Lois Lowry's The Giver

By Natalie Odisho

Let’s Get Lit: Spotlight on Allegory

In The Giver, Jonas is scolded for using imprecise language of “starving”. He is assured by the community that he will never be starving in his life. Isn’t it ironic?

"It’s ironic, a little too ironic don’t you think?" Aside from Alanis Morisette’s literary lyrics, irony is a common rhetorical device used to add drama and mystery.

Lois Lowry uses irony to create complicated layers of ethics, emotion and morality in The Giver. The Giver is the groundbreaking 1994 Newbery award winner in which a young boy, Jonas, is sorted into a painfully real career receiving memories from a tired Giver in a seemingly perfect community.

(Warning! Spoiler alert for The Giver. Read at your own caution.)

Christopher Robin Says No to Adulting: Personification and a Silly 'Ol Bear

By Natalie Odisho

Let’s Get Lit: Spotlight on Allegory

Why the new adventure of Christopher Robin brings life in and out of the Hundred Acre Wood. 

Did you know that Winnie-the-Pooh started as one adult’s solution to sleepless nights? Christopher Robin was named after English author A.A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin Milne, who needed bedtime stories to fall asleep.What originally began as a childhood story has grown to become a pastime for the world to enjoy. Today, Winnie-the-Pooh is one of the most successful, celebrated children’s stories in history.

Now a major motion picture, Christopher Robin retells a childhood classic through the eyes of an adult. As storytellers, A.A. Milne and Disney sprinkle the magic of childhood through personified stuffed animals with language, clothing and temperament.

Stephen King’s Ten Tips for Horrific Writing

By Natalie Odisho

Let’s Get Lit: Spotlight on Allegory

JH: I'm introducing a new treat today--a recurring column that will tackle a literary device each month, and show how bestselling authors are using that device in their work. Please help me welcome Natalie Odisho to the Fiction University team! 

Natalie Odisho is an Assyrian-American artist who lives in Dubai. After graduating with a BS from Florida State University, she followed the music to Las Vegas where she worked in editorial and public relations. Now her focus is on acupuncture and telling you to eat only before 7pm.

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Take it away Natalie...