Good morning Christian Writers! Hope you have all had a good writing week? Do let me know what you are up to at the moment . . . are you plugging away with a novel? Trying a short story for a change? Entering a competition? Do you need a bit of encouragement to get back to writing? If you let me know what challenges you are facing, I can tailor these posts to help you, so do send me an email, put a comment on facebook or add your comments below. Love to hear from you! 🙂

On to this week’s creative writing tip, which I hope you will find useful:

Have you ever attributed human emotions/thoughts to an inanimate (or at least a non-human) object? Personification is a useful way to add atmosphere to your story. Which of us hasn’t the occasional fleeting thought that ‘something out there’ was plotting against us? 🙂

Here’s an example from London’s Gone (click on the book for more info about the story):London's Gone from Dernier Publishing

“Being busy had prevented Maria from considering the enormity of what they were about to do, but as she sat alone on her bike in the drive, waiting for Emily to get some last forgotten item, it hit her hard. Shadows were already beginning to lengthen across the driveway and a deep foreboding filled her. The tall trees and the wind seemed to be whispering together, plotting their malicious intentions high above, where she couldn’t hear what they were saying. The evening chill seemed to be joining in the evil game, too; it was still only afternoon, but it was already stretching out its cold tentacles. Maria shivered and looked round in rising alarm at the creeping shadows, feeling small, alone and afraid. “Come on Emily,” she muttered under her breath. It was the first time she could ever remember wanting to see her sister! Then she caught hold of herself and sat up straight. “You can’t touch us!” Maria announced boldly to the sinister silence. “Granny and Grandpa are praying for us.” At once she felt a peace that was almost tangible. It was like nothing she had ever felt before – like everything was going to be OK, like there was something, someone even, who was out there, taking care of them. Maria looked round, so strong was the feeling, but there was nothing to be seen.”

tall trees

We all know that trees aren’t really whispering and plotting, and the chill of evening isn’t playing an evil game, but if you get this right, you can make a big difference to your novel by using this technique. Try it and let us know how it goes!

We’re going to be looking at several literary devices to put some icing on the cake of your novel in next month’s Monthly Membership Programme – you can join with a free month’s trial. Be great to have you!

Janet Wilson, founder of Dernier Publishing and Write for a Reason
Janet Wilson, founder of Dernier Publishing and Write for a Reason

See you there, or here next time,

Janet

Personification
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