by Barbara McNichol

Never did I dream I’d gain material for communicating writing tips on the the tennis court. But while at tennis on a recent Thursday morning, a buddy passed along a sheet of “punny” sentences that made us all laugh.

My favorites:

• Broken pencils are pointless.
• A  cartoonist was found dead in his home. Details are
  sketchy.
• I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can’t put it
  down.
• What do  you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary.
  A thesaurus.

Speaking of “punniness,” this BBC article discusses the pun’s dubious
reputation as the lowest form of humor. It points to signs like Fish & Sip (a seafood and coffee joint) and EYEdiology (an optician’s shop) as examples.

Now, I’m not advocating using lots of silly puns in your writing.
But I suggest that playing with them can spark your creativity
for all the serious writing you’re doing.

I do recommend using other figures of speech—similes, metaphors,
alliteration, and more—to add power to your pen. So I’ve created a free
four-page handout filled with Fun Figures of Speech to enhance your
writing skills, and if you’ll email me with Fun Figures of Speech in
the subject line, I’ll email you the PDF.

Share your favorite figures of speech through examples here.