Comments on: The Riches of Idiom and Simile http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:47:47 +0000 hourly 1 By: Etta Wilson http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2569 Etta Wilson Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:27:25 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2569 Barbara, thanks not only for mentioning two great middle-grade titles but also for reminding us of how creative children can be with language. Etta Barbara, thanks not only for mentioning two great middle-grade titles but also for reminding us of how creative children can be with language.
Etta

]]> By: Barbara Blakey http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2558 Barbara Blakey Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:46:41 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2558 The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman contains similes and idioms on almost every page. It adds to the humor and voice of the story, although written for young children ready for their first chapter books. Another book rich with idiom and simile is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Although written for a little older reader than The Whipping Boy, the use of idiom fits perfectly with the characters and setting. I love exposing the children in my life to well-crafted stories rich with writing devices such as metaphors, similes and idioms. When I challenge them to come up with their own similes, I am often surprised--and more often entertained! The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman contains similes and idioms on almost every page. It adds to the humor and voice of the story, although written for young children ready for their first chapter books. Another book rich with idiom and simile is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Although written for a little older reader than The Whipping Boy, the use of idiom fits perfectly with the characters and setting. I love exposing the children in my life to well-crafted stories rich with writing devices such as metaphors, similes and idioms. When I challenge them to come up with their own similes, I am often surprised–and more often entertained!

]]> By: Jean Hall http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2557 Jean Hall Wed, 28 Oct 2009 01:13:11 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2557 What an interesting discussion. Like LInda Rue I can't think of any specific examples off hand. (hmmm-idiom) Maybe The Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Wonderful Southern-ese in it. Jean Hall http://write2ignite.wordpress.com What an interesting discussion. Like LInda Rue I can’t think of any specific examples off hand. (hmmm-idiom) Maybe The Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Wonderful Southern-ese in it.

Jean Hall
http://write2ignite.wordpress.com

]]> By: pat jeanne davis http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2555 pat jeanne davis Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:23:31 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2555 Yes, All Creatures Great and Small comes to mind. I've read the book and my children and I have listen to the book on tape. Pat Yes, All Creatures Great and Small comes to mind. I’ve read the book and my children and I have listen to the book on tape. Pat

]]> By: Katie Ganshert http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2554 Katie Ganshert Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:02:03 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2554 The Secret Life of Bees comes to mind. When used well and judiciously, I think idioms/similes helps the fictional world come to life. :) Great brain fodder! The Secret Life of Bees comes to mind. When used well and judiciously, I think idioms/similes helps the fictional world come to life. :)

Great brain fodder!

]]> By: KC Frantzen http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2553 KC Frantzen Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:48:19 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2553 What a fun post! And commentary! Thanks!! :) My Dad had the very same clients it seemed as Dr. Wight (who knew?) - just different names and locations. All Creatures Great and Small was required reading in my high school, a public school in Houston. Imagine that. Required reading based on the Biblical song "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all." How times have changed. Though not exactly what you were meaning perhaps Mrs Etta... reading through Spurgeon's Sermons does carry one back 125 years ago. It takes my brain a bit to wrap around his speech but the treasures there... Wow. "First, I would bid you stand and see the place where the Lord lay with emotions of deep sorrow. Oh come, my beloved brother, thy Jesus once lay there. He was a murdered man, my soul, and thou the murderer... I slew him-this right hand struck the dagger to his heart. My deeds slew Christ. Alas! I slew my best beloved; I killed him who loved me with an everlasting love..." (from sermon XI based on Matthew 28:6) What a fun post!
And commentary!
Thanks!! :)

My Dad had the very same clients it seemed as Dr. Wight (who knew?) – just different names and locations. All Creatures Great and Small was required reading in my high school, a public school in Houston. Imagine that. Required reading based on the Biblical song “All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.” How times have changed.

Though not exactly what you were meaning perhaps Mrs Etta… reading through Spurgeon’s Sermons does carry one back 125 years ago. It takes my brain a bit to wrap around his speech but the treasures there… Wow.

“First, I would bid you stand and see the place where the Lord lay with emotions of deep sorrow. Oh come, my beloved brother, thy Jesus once lay there. He was a murdered man, my soul, and thou the murderer… I slew him-this right hand struck the dagger to his heart. My deeds slew Christ. Alas! I slew my best beloved; I killed him who loved me with an everlasting love…” (from sermon XI based on Matthew 28:6)

]]> By: Lynn Dean http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2552 Lynn Dean Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:41:47 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2552 One of the pleasant surprises I encountered in writing my first historical fiction was that I could "hear" my grandmothers talking in my head as I typed dialogue. I don't know if it's a Southern peculiarity, but speech patterns here are rich in idiom and simile, and were even more so a few generations back. People of that era were definitely colorful, and I found that as long as I used these devices in the context of dialogue or inner thought, there was rarely a problem. One of the pleasant surprises I encountered in writing my first historical fiction was that I could “hear” my grandmothers talking in my head as I typed dialogue. I don’t know if it’s a Southern peculiarity, but speech patterns here are rich in idiom and simile, and were even more so a few generations back. People of that era were definitely colorful, and I found that as long as I used these devices in the context of dialogue or inner thought, there was rarely a problem.

]]> By: Lori Benton http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2551 Lori Benton Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:52:32 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2551 I hadn't heard of The Help before this post, but I hadn't even clicked on the (more) before you'd convinced me it was a must read. Thank you! In re: speech patterns and idioms, for my last WIP I had to learn to use southern slave dialect from the eighteenth century (or as near as anyone can, from where we now sit). It was certainly something that developed with many drafts, and I tried to keep a light touch. I found that word choice and the rhythm of speech in dialogue and narrative goes a long way on their own, then a sprinkling of colorful idiom is all that's needed, like spice in a cake. But it comes down to knowing the characters and the linguistic influences that shaped their speech. Two slaves on the same plantation or farm might speak very differently, for any number of reasons. For example, there were instances of slaves on some southern plantations who spoke Gaelic, or English with a Scottish accent, because that's what they grew up hearing. That was the kernel of historical fact, encountered in another author's novel (who was kind enough to share her research with me) that inspired my last WIP. I hadn’t heard of The Help before this post, but I hadn’t even clicked on the (more) before you’d convinced me it was a must read. Thank you!

In re: speech patterns and idioms, for my last WIP I had to learn to use southern slave dialect from the eighteenth century (or as near as anyone can, from where we now sit). It was certainly something that developed with many drafts, and I tried to keep a light touch. I found that word choice and the rhythm of speech in dialogue and narrative goes a long way on their own, then a sprinkling of colorful idiom is all that’s needed, like spice in a cake. But it comes down to knowing the characters and the linguistic influences that shaped their speech. Two slaves on the same plantation or farm might speak very differently, for any number of reasons. For example, there were instances of slaves on some southern plantations who spoke Gaelic, or English with a Scottish accent, because that’s what they grew up hearing. That was the kernel of historical fact, encountered in another author’s novel (who was kind enough to share her research with me) that inspired my last WIP.

]]> By: Etta Wilson http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2550 Etta Wilson Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:35:22 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2550 Linda, you make me want to read James Herriot again, and I didn't know his name was Alf Wight! Thanks for the enlightenment. Etta Linda, you make me want to read James Herriot again, and I didn’t know his name was Alf Wight! Thanks for the enlightenment.
Etta

]]> By: Bonnie http://www.booksandsuch.biz/blog/the-riches-of-idiom-and-simile/comment-page-1/#comment-2549 Bonnie Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:22:00 +0000 http://www.booksandsuch.biz/?p=4947#comment-2549 Can't think of specific examples right now, but I know I've read books where the idioms and expressions of speech, like you list here, totally made the book. They captured the person or the era and brought it closer. If the author uses them well (e.g., within context, and ones that the reader can quickly gain the sense of) then it works really well. Can’t think of specific examples right now, but I know I’ve read books where the idioms and expressions of speech, like you list here, totally made the book. They captured the person or the era and brought it closer. If the author uses them well (e.g., within context, and ones that the reader can quickly gain the sense of) then it works really well.

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