This post, like others, it to further illustrate figurative language. Below are examples of similes from my favorite books.

"He listened to her soft, regular breathing behind him-like the breath of a dragon-he was certain he could feel it gusting against the back of his neck."
--P.327 Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson 

"Gaborn watched the girls drift by, feeling that their beauty was as stunning as that of larks in flight, knowing he would never forget their smiles."
-- P.41-42, Runelords, David Farland

""Because you are young, you value men based upon their insights into the human heart, Your Lordship." This statement struck Gaborn like a blast of air off a frozen lake. It was stunning, refreshingly honest, and, of course, obviously true."

-- P. 141, Runelords, David Farland

"Dozens of Raj Ahten's legendary Invincibles had followed Borenson's men into the woods, and the Invincibles were now so full of arrows that their corpses looked as prickly as hedgehogs."

-- P.600, Runelords, David Farland 

 "The rain, like icy needles, lashed at my unprotected face and head, since I hadn't bothered with the cloak's hood."
--P.159, Magic of Recluse, L.E. Modesitt Jr. 

• Alliteration Defined
• Rules for Alliteration
• Sound Sound Sound
• What is Alliteration

All writers, must be readers....

As I was reading one of my favorite novels I came across some metaphors that I thought would further illustrate a my post on Metaphors.

Read this!

"High Fist," he said at last, aware that both men had been waiting for him to speak, "there's still a few Bridgeburners left. Fewer hands on the sword. But the sword's still sharp. It's not our style to make life easy for those who oppose us--whoever they happen to be. To just quietly walk away..."

P. 127 Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson

 "He'd come into her  room, a place where the noble brats drooling at her heels couldn't enter, a place where she might talk to the ragged dolls of her childhood, when innocence didn't just mean a flower not yet plucked. Her sanctuary."

P. 190 Gardens of the Moon, Steven Erikson

 The second example is slightly different. When you read 'flower not yet plucked' the speaker is referring to the virginity of a woman.

Both illustrate how metaphors are used within fantasy fiction.

More examples:

"Her soft voice carries across the road, still shrouded in the mist laid down before dawn."
--P.289, Magic of Recluse, L.E. Modesitt Jr.  

Definition

Personification in writing is when writers give human traits to a non-human item.