1 Writing Tools Rhonda Gentry

2 This book is dedicated to all of Mrs. Gentry’s language arts students. Copyright 2008 R. Gentry

3 Writing Tools Berry College Rome, Georgia Compiled by Rhonda Gentry Gentry Press 1

4 What are writing tools? Good writers use figurative language tools to make their writing more interesting. They use them to paint pictures in the minds of readers, evoke emotion, and pull readers into their writing. Figurative language is a way for authors to say something without using the literal meaning, but instead employ “figures of speech”. 2

5 Onomatopoeia Writers use descriptive words to stimulate the reader’s senses. Onomatopoeia is the use of words that sound like the action they describe. The bees buzzed around the hive. 3 J /omomatopoea.html

6 Metaphor A metaphor is a comparison of two different things without using like or as. A metaphor states that one thing is something else. 4 The crowd’s applause was a symphony of humanity. metaphor_chapters/examples.htm

7 Imagery By using sensory words to stimulate the five senses (taste, touch, scent, sound, and sight), imagery creates pictures (images) in the minds of readers. 5,6 The smoky, sweet aromas of bacon and pancakes aroused me from my sleep. harrisms/imagery.htm

8 Alliteration Repeating the initial consonant of a beginning word in the subsequent words of a sentence or phrase is alliteration. We usually recognize this method as tongue twisters, but it is also prominent in poetry when authors want to place emphasis on their choice of words. 7 Hear the loud alarum bells- Brazen bells! What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! -- Edgar Allen Poe, The Bells harrisms/allitera.htm

9 Assonance Whereas alliteration is the repetition of consonants, assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds, but with different consonants. It is different from rhyme in that the consonants are not the same. 8,9 bikekite She rode her bike and flew her kite. area/literature/Terms/assonance.html

10 Simile Similes compare two unlike things by using like or as. 10 The river glistened like an emerald necklace. J /simile.html

11 Idiom An idiom is a phrase that has a different literal meaning than how it is stated. You’re driving me up the wall really means you are bothering me. To bring home the bacon really means to earn money for the household. You’re driving me up the wall! Bringing home the bacon 11 12

Hyperbole Writers sometimes exaggerate a description or expression to show emphasis. 13 I’ve told you a hundred times not to do that! harrisms/hyperbole.htm

13 Personification Giving human qualities or characteristics to animals or other non- human objects is called personification. 14 The small car moaned under the enormous weight of its cargo. personification.html

14 If authors never used the tools of figurative language in their writing, readers would become bored to death. Poetry would lose its beauty, books would sit on shelves unread, and writers would struggle to find ways of expressing themselves. We need descriptive language in our everyday lives as much as a flower needs the rain. So, nourish your own writing so that it may blossom forth to create those vivid images your readers crave. “Do not go gentle into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day: Rage, rage against the dying of the light...” --Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night figurative.html

15 Resources BD B-49DDF1DC6A3D%7D disciplinesmall.jpg 14.