How to Use HYPERBOLE in Your Writing (With Examples!)

Want to spice up your writing? Hyperbole can make your sentences pop and sizzle.
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Credit to SkyDilen for my video intro.
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[@desertgecko4549]

Thanks, Brandon. I wouldn't have survived another day without this.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahaha you owe me more than your life

[@ZachScottB]

👀 I see your hyperbole. 😃

[@abenerice]

OMG you made my day with this one.

[@Arquaizt]

Great vid. Your explanations are like finding water in the Sahara…

[@Gruzbee]

Hyperbole is the spice of writing. Though, I often use it as a kind of internal monologue or dialogue. It always annoys me when people expect characters to talk with the same rules of writing applied to the narrative. Knowing one's readers is knowing when and how to use hyperbole, and metaphors. My favorite comedian is Brian Regan by the way.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Ah, yes, gotta be careful how you setup your hyperbole, whether in narration or in dialogue like you said

[@INTH705]

Wdym same rules of writing applied to the narrative?

[@Gruzbee]

@@INTH705 I'm having a hard time remembering the context of what I said 3 years ago... but if I had to guess, I'd probably meant that dialogue should be flexible. If every character spoke with perfect grammar then there wouldn't be any nuance.

[@priyanshu.761]

Man, so good! You know the best thing about your videos are the examples

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! Glad the videos are helping!

[@TheBluenyt09]

Hyperbole's can be used on friends when they're messing or teasing each other, especially in books giving their friendship a bit more depth. I don't have a favorite comedian in particular though 😎👍

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yeah hyperbole is great for banter between characters. Especially if you're characters are ball-busters.

[@WilliamReginaldLucas]

The great thing about the Bill Burr example is I didn't even know who Walter Payton was but still laughed, the specificity is what made it so funny. If he'd have just said "and you go over the top like a seasoned American Football player" it would've felt more vague and not packed as hard a punch. The name drop catches you off and in comedy that is what gets laughs!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Spot on. The specificity makes it snap

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Who's your favorite comedian (or comedic movie/TV show)? Do they ever use hyperbole to get laughs? Let us know!

[@artman2oo3]

When I first clicked on the video I thought it was recent. But it turns out you uploaded it millennia ago! Wow!

[@TheSenator007]

"When people say they got people everywhere you expect it to be hyperbole. Lots of people say that. Florists use that expression. Doesn't mean they got someone working for them from inside the bloody room" M in Quantum of Solace. I think the most memorable quote in all of fiction that mentions hyperbole.

[@TorQueMoD]

I really love the examples that you're including in these videos!

[@adamhenrysears3288]

I followed your hyperbolic advice and came to watch your video.

[@MichaelJMetz]

Jim Gaffigan and the way he talks about food (especially McDonald's french fries).

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

His metaphors are pretty good. I remember watching him years ago on Conan when he described pie as “liquid cake” haha

[@lauraroberts2250]

Thanks for the great advice. I've learned a lot, especially about my mistakes. I loved this lesson. Now how about one on litotes?

[@Bocin544]

Once I become one of the best I writers, I’ll look back on your channel and give you credit. 🎉

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! Glad the videos are helping!

[@lillianrilett6426]

Cheers Brandon, your videos are quite helpful for when I'm refreshing my knowledge prior to tutoring my students.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Awesome, what grade do you teach?

[@lillianrilett6426]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Years 8-12 secondary school. I like that you emphasised specificity as a key component as well, that's something I don't explicitly instruct enough!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

@@lillianrilett6426 Yep, specificity is wildly effective, even if the audience doesn't catch the reference. When I was growing up watching Seinfeld, some jokes would name things I'd never heard of, but would still land because of the specificity. I remember one episode when Jerry described gym class as being "like Lord of the Flies for 40 minutes." I hadn't read (or even heard of) LotF at the time, but I nonetheless laughed my ass off.

[@kerri-lynbryant293]

I loved Annie Hallxx😊

[@gavinhurley3448]

Liking the vid! Great points about balance and finding the "sweet spot"! Cheers, man!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks bud! Also... started Bentley Little's The Store the other day (you rec'd it to me at StokerCon). Really digging it so far, can't wait to see where it goes

[@Ra-Hul-K]

5:00 what came to my mind.. Kelly drinks coffee by the gallon. On hindsight, I think my hyperbole focuses on the quantity of the coffee Kelly consumes rather than her need to drink coffee to function.

[@ridleyformk1244]

7:26: It's Harry Hill. I haven't watched him in a while, but he is funny. While I don't remember a time he used Hyperbole(he properly did) there was this one time he made me laugh so hard. I don't remember the joke, only that it was obvious, but I laughed hard. So hard, that I was struggling to breath. So hard that I felt the joke tighten his fingers on my neck.

[@abenerice]

In my current novel, a man just hears about 4 guys with a reputation of brutes, and he states : "Indeed. Put together, those 4 have the intelligence of a cave lizard on a prune alcohol bender, and about the same sense of dialogue as a killer mantis during rutting season." (actually, this a world where there are many exotic animals, and killer mantises are a thing). Which says more about him than them, but stille characterises his opinion of those. Thank you for your channel. Hearing you is like bathing in a pool of olympian nectar

[@KammiLutz]

What a great video! It made my day!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks Kammi! I'm dying to get a look at your video on developmental editing. Hoping to carve out some time this weekend

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Love your channel.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks!

[@mhab3737]

Don’t rush choosing your comedian folks, I’m going to be your favorite one ;)

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

A huge understatement.

[@LucasPawlik]

All your examples here are variations of Aristotle "Show, don't tell!" in the introduction of "Poetics" :-)

[@kerri-lynbryant293]

I'm noticing you like Jaguar cars B. Lots of jaguar merch.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Haha the football team actually

[@victorbryan5482]

My favorite comedian is Chris Rock and an example of hyperbole is him saying "Will Smith just slapped the sh*t outta me" 😂😂😂

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahah how timely! And good to see back, Victor!

[@PhoenixCrown]

Dave Chapelle is the greatest and yes he uses hyperbole. One thing you didn't cover is when is the best time to use hyperbole in a story? Is it best for comedic effect?

[@guillaumeshearmur656]

And Walter Patten is??? Taking from the photo he's an American football player, but that line from Bill Burr only works if you understand what or who he's talking about. If you make cultural specific hyperboles then they may also fall flat.

[@Ra-Hul-K]

Monica: Chandler, why are you taking my frying pan? Chandler: Honey! there's a spider in your bathroom the size of a 1974 Buick with 50,000 MILES ON IT!! (Chandler rushes back to the bathroom) Monica: Well, that was oddly specific.

[@Ra-Hul-K]

honey there's a spider in your bathroom the size of a 1974 Buick with 50,000 miles on it 🤣 I think some sitcom characters would be able to pull off that line 😅

[@Ra-Hul-K]

Monica: Chandler, why are you taking my frying pan? Chandler: Honey! there's a spider in your bathroom the size of a 1974 Buick with 50,000 MILES ON IT!! (Chandler rushes back to the bathroom) Monica: Well, that was oddly specific.

[@ZachScottB]

Love your channel Brandon. Please help me understand... 3:02 "Don't be too specific". 4:30 "This is a great example because it adds specificity". What is the difference of being specific and adding specificity? Thoroughly confused... 😕

[@ZachScottB]

I'm pretty sure you mean to connect the specific detail back to your hyperbole. A witty transition here could be ironic.

[@Space_Writer]

how would you go about using hyperbole to describe a medical-based story. I'm working on a piece of medical science fiction. I'm planning on posting something "as if the hospital I'm writing about, but I want the post to be over the top so as to paint it as definite fiction, without saying "hey guys this isn't real". How do you think hyperbole can be used in a way that conveys fiction? Should I write my post as if its parody, so that the ridiculousness of the 'hospital's' claims are obvious not real. OR do you think there are times when hyperbole might be interpreted as deceptive? I want to share more for context, but I don't want to ruin my story plot. I guess what I'm asking is, do you think hyperbole could be used in place of a disclaimer (e.g. "for entertainment purposes only")

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Figure out the tone of your story first. The less severe it is, the more you can toy around with humor and hyperbole

[@Space_Writer]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty ok, thanks. Its science fiction, btw. Think grey's anatomy meets harry potter. 👩🏽‍⚕️🧙‍♂️

[@Ra-Hul-K]

maybe something like: "the place looked like somewhere the dark lord went to get his nose job done" or something like "Would I go back to that place? Sure, but I'd have to get two beds. One for me, and one for the death eater pointing his wand to my head."

[@chriswest8389]

He makes Scrooge look like a Walmart greeter.

[@chriswest8389]

He's( Scrooge) so cheap he uses his hate mail for toilet paper.

[@tiarailic4086]

I remember in highschool, a girl in my Lit. class got frustrated with the homework and was like, "There is no such thing as a Hyper Bol E. I looked it up!" Lol😋

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Hahah you should send her this video

[@bonbonpony]

03:07 When you hyperbole the hyperbole… :J

[@NeilJain-ff1dy]

Hurry up in that god dam statement

[@TheZetaKai]

Literally every comedian uses hyperbole in their sets, and I don't think that is actually a hyperbolic statement.

[@dmytrkapushchak3411]

King Joh is lazy King King Joh most of day sleep because he thinking of country

[@RM-yw6xe]

Woody Allen married his daughter.