Posts Tagged by rhetoric
Getting To The Point: An Example Of Ineffective Writing
| December 11, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Becoming a writer, Know Your Audience, Structure, The Writing Process |
When someone tells me that they can’t write, I cringe. Of course you can write. Barring illiteracy, anyone can write. What people really mean to say is that they don’t believe they write well enough to get published. To this, my answer is simple: just because someone is published, it doesn’t mean they can write. I’m not the only writer to make this observation: Continue Reading
Follow Me: Avoiding Non Sequitors In Your Writing
| December 10, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under Becoming a writer, Structure, The Writing Process |
A good writer is like a good shepard who keeps his flock from going astray
The term “non sequitor” is Latin. It means “doesn’t follow.” Simply put, a non sequitor is an inference that doesn’t follow the premises. While the term is most often associated with the study of rhetorical analysis, writers make this mistake on a regular basis, and it baffles the reader. Once a reader stumbles over this giant obstacle to comprehension, they might decide not to go on. If you want to be read from beginning to end, don’t force your readers to run the gauntlet of structural errors.
The example below is from the January/February 2011 issue of Dairy Goat Journal. The non sequitor looms in front of the reader like an insurmountable wall roped with razor wire. (more…)
Understanding The Distinction Between Analogy And Metaphor
| December 9, 2010 | Posted by JerriCook under literary devices |
The wolf blows down the straw house in a 1904 adaptation of the story. Illustration by Leonard Leslie Brooke.
Metaphors and analogies are literary devices used by writers since the first scribblings were etched on cave walls. However, they aren’t always used effectively because both writers and readers often don’t understand the distinction between the two. It’s important that both you as a writer and the audience you’re engaging understand the literary devices being employed.
Metaphors are rhetorical substitutes for the subject at hand. They are used to teach a lesson or a profound truth of humanity. We learn to speak, write and listen metaphorically from a young age. Fables and fairy tales are metaphors, meant to teach young people the important lessons that will guide them through life’s difficulties. (more…)
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