While you may not have consciously thought about what literary devices you’re incorporating into your writing (or at least not since, say, your high school English class), rest assured that they are very much a part of the writing process—and can be even more helpful when you actively choose to use them in your manuscript.

So here are a few more of the most common and not-so-common literary devices that authors use to spice up their writing. Whether you use one as the main framing narrative for your entire novel or simply sprinkle one in here and there, these methods are known throughout the world for a reason: They are effective at helping authors make their point in a stylish way that truly drives the story home.

Want even more to choose from? Take a look at our first post on literary devices here.

Paradox
This term refers to two ideas, feelings, or concepts that oppose each other and at first seem as though it would be impossible for them to exist side by side. However, the fact that they do usually reveals something important about the situation or character at hand.

It can be difficult to use a paradox in a meaningful way—but when it’s used correctly, it can go a long way in challenging readers’ ideas of what came before. While a paradox can act as a huge impetus for the plot, most of the time it presents itself in a single sentence to show the duality of emotion.

For example, Charles Dickens has perhaps one of the most famous uses of a paradox in his opening line of A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” So if you want to use a paradox in your writing but don’t want to commit to lengthy philosophical musings, just keep in mind that it doesn’t always have to be a major plot point.

Allusion
Allusions simply mean a reference to other often well-known works or events—be that other novels, authors, artists, historical incidents, etc. Sometimes the allusions can be obvious by directly referencing the person or thing to which it refers. Referring to somebody’s particular weakness as their Achilles’ heel, for example, would be an allusion to the character from Homer’s Iliad.

Other times, allusions can be a bit more subtle—such as the myriad ones that T. S. Eliot makes in his poem The Waste Land, where he obliquely refers to everything from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Greek mythology and Buddha.

Allegory
This is a story that exists purely to take an abstract idea or concept and represent it in a more concrete, easily digestible form. In fact, to jump off from the previous entry, allegories often act as extended allusions.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm, in which animals act as stand-ins for the fall of Communism, is the allegory so often taught in high school classrooms. But one of my favorites is Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. Pi’s entire experience on the boat with the tiger, zebra, orangutan, and hyena turns out to be an allegory about the ways in which humans deal with unfathomable situations—and of the healing nature of storytelling itself. Note: Your allegory does not, obviously, have to involve animals.

Personification
This term refers to giving something that is nonhuman (a house, a flower, etc.) some human attributes. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you have to come out and say why or how something is like a human—you simply describe it by using humanlike descriptions.

Personification can be achieved using or appealing to any of the human senses. So a house can have “memories” and a flower can “drink” up the rain, for example. Simply by describing an inanimate object using humanlike characteristics (without coming right out and saying that it is like a human) acts as an easy way to lend some empathy to an object or place while using creative imagery to encourage those feelings from readers.

Hyperbole
If you don’t recognize the term, chances are that you would recognize its use in common conversation. After all, we all have that one friend (or maybe it’s you!) who likes to tell dramatized accounts of everyday happenings. Doing so often results in the use of hyperbole, or exaggerated descriptions, often to make a point.

Think “My mouth is on fire!” after eating something spicy, or “My feet are ice cubes” when it’s cold outside. Authors often use hyperbole in dialogue as a way to express someone’s sometimes dramatic personality or as a way to make conversations between characters sound more natural—after all, hyperbole is used all the time. (See what I did there?)

In Media Res
This term is Latin for “into the middle of things,” which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Instead of starting a story at the chronological beginning of the plot, writers will use this plot device to start the story in the middle of the conflict or action.

Authors of genres that are high in tension—like psychological thrillers, detective novels, or even horror stories—are particularly fond of using in media res since it instantly creates a sense of dramatic peril. It’s also a good way to bypass the quieter buildup to a particular plot if that buildup is less important than the aftermath.

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.