Amie Borst

It's a simple concept: the repetition of a letter or sound. Easy enough. The w obbly w alrus w addled to w ard the w all. Alliteration is great for poetry. A wonderful example is from my favorite poet and writer, Edgar Allen Poe. " O nce upon a midnight dreary w hile I pondered w eak and w eary" (notice how even though Once starts with an "o" it makes a "w" sound, so it's included as part of the alliteration) I won't highlight the entire poem for you, as there are many examples of alliteration throughout (and you might begin to feel like you're in a college poetry class). But that one example shows us the fluidity it brings to the poem. So why the heck is it important in novel writing? And is it necessary? Well, for one, it could add a layer and flavor to your writing that might not otherwise be there. For another, alliteration has a natural tendency to feel familiar, and brings your reader a relate-able language (so long as it's n

Think back to seventh grade English. For some of you (including myself) that is a loooooong time ago. But think hard... There's something you learned way back then called personification. What? You don't remember it? Well, quite simply, personification can be defined as giving human traits or characteristics to an inanimate object. Sound hard? Not really. I'm guessing you've used personification just today. That slice of chocolate cake is really calling to me. (Cake can't call because that's a human characteristic) That humidity beat the snot out of me. (Humidity can't beat) The wind whistled through the trees. (Wind can't whistle) See? It's that easy! But....these examples are overdone....they're so common that many times we don't even see the beauty of the personification. And personification can be quite lovely. Let me show you. * And like the flowers beside them chill and shiver, Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone -

While this isn't exactly what working with an editor is like, it is entertaining. Enjoy!

I have two agents, actually. One to sell my house, and one to help me purchase my next house. And they're doing a heckofa job, if I do say so myself. What's that? Oh. You thought I meant a LITERARY Agent? Sorry. Nope. Just a REAL ESTATE Agent. :) (Did I getcha?) (I'm probably gonna pay for this one, like the boy who cried wolf, huh?)