An Author's Hermes-A Guide to Writing on Wattpad

𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒

I'm certain you've come across a line in a book using a literary device. These elements are placed in so carefully that the reader tends to just gloss over it, unless they are analysing the writing technique.

Now, you may ask, what is a literary device?
A literary device is an element used in writing to make a text less bland.

I will introduce the most common ones to you, dear reader, along with my own definition and examples on how to use them.

Alliteration: when a series of words all start with the same sound, similarly to a tongue-twister.
Example: Sally seldom sold salmon.

Metaphor: describes an object in a way that isn't literary true.
Example: He's made of money. (Meaning he is rich.)

Simile: describes an object in a way that isn't literary true, but using the words "like" or "as".
Example: You are like a sloth. (You are lazy.)

Foreshadowing: adds a certain hint or clue to an upcoming event.

Hyperbole: An exaggeration to get a point across.
Example: I felt the blood leave my face.

Dramatic Irony: the reader knows something the characters don't.
Example: He stood behind her, a knife in his hand, as she calmly read her book.

Situational Irony: something happens that the reader didn't expect.
Example: A fire station sets on fire.

Litotes: an ironic statement in which an affirmative is used to convey a negative using negative words.
Example: The weather isn't the best.
Here, we know that the weather is bad; the litotes consists of adding a negative (in this case, "isn't).
Without it, we would have, "The weather is the best."

Personification: the act of giving human traits to animals or inanimate objects.
Example: Her hair danced in the wind. (Hair can't actually dance.)

These are the ones most commonly used in literature, and some even in regular life! Literary devices and figurative language are everywhere, if one only knows to look for it.