A chiasmus is a piece of writing that repeats words, concepts or grammatical constructions in reverse order – e.g. ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’. Antimetabole is the repetition of words in successive clauses – e.g. ‘Eat to live, not live to eat’.
Take your core message and try reversing the key words: "Don't X to Y — Y to X." Does it sharpen the point?
Paste a line. Rewrite it using Chiasmus or antimetabole.
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For example, writing ‘we save your life’ is more informative and powerful than ‘lives are saved’.
First, you must get a reader’s attention, then capture their interest before arousing desire and, finally, encouraging action.
Starting multiple words with the same sound can lend texture to your writing and encourage people to pay attention.
Run a ten-minute sprint with Chiasmus or antimetabole as your prompt. Free, with no sign-in: it stays on your device.
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