Home For Fiction – Blog

for thinking people

writing

Should You Avoid Mixed Metaphors?

May 7, 2018

Writing

literature, metaphor, writing

A mixed metaphor is the intermixing of two or more metaphors the literal meaning of which comes from different and incompatible areas. Apart from my cheeky example in the note above, also consider the following:

  • I shall make no bones about the skeleton in the closet.
  • We’ve got to grab the bull by the tail and look him in the eye.
  • He’s like a duck out of water.

As you might already guess, the juxtaposition of such incongruous elements can have a profoundly humorous effect. However, humor is not the only possible option for mixed metaphors, as we shall see below. Whether to avoid mixed metaphors or not depends entirely on the intended meaning.

Avoid Mixed Metaphors
You don’t HAVE to avoid mixed metaphors, provided you know how to use them

 

(more…)

The Deterioration of Writing Skills

May 1, 2018

Society

literature, mediocrity, social media, society, writing

The very first article of this blog talked about writing. In particular, it talked about the deterioration of writing skills as a result of humanity being preoccupied with superficial things. Of course, this has been a theme echoing through future articles as well. To name just a couple, remember my article on mediocrity and the one on having too few readers and too many (mediocre) writers.

the deterioration of writing skills
The deterioration of writing skills has a profound effect on the quality of texts available to us, which only further lessens the quality of writing.
(more…)

Authors Talk: A Discussion with Davyne DeSye

April 13, 2018

Author Interview, Literature

author, Davyne DeSye, fiction, interview, literature, science fiction, writing

This article introduces a new series of blog entries, which I refer to as “Authors Talk”. You can think of it as an author interview and, indeed, that is the name of the blog category. However, I prefer to see it as a friendly chat between fellow authors. Today I’m having this virtual chat with Davyne DeSye, author of Carapace. If you’re a science fiction fan (and even if you aren’t), this novel is a must-read. Easily one of the best science fiction works I’ve read lately (you can read my review of Carapace here). A detailed list of useful links to Davyne DeSye’s work can be found at the end of this article.

Davyne DeSye
(more…)