In our essays and stories, we can add elements of writerly creativity through the use of figurative language, which is just the fancy school way of saying "language that doesn't mean exactly what its words mean."
Figurative language is a big category, because people are constantly using language in this way, often without being aware of it.
"She did that? That's so cold of her!"
"I am starving, I haven't eaten in, like, six hours!"
"He works 24/7."
"The Ravens destroyed the Patriots in the second half."
Slang is usually (but not always) figurative use of existing language.
People tend to describe every experience that they have in the most extreme way available to them, so people say "awesome/starving/idiotic" when they mean "good/hungry/foolish." This exaggeration to make a point stronger is hyperbole, and not creative. These words wear out, and so language have to keep coming up with new words that mean these things.
Some people think that most language started as metaphor, and the process of using a metaphor again and again until people can't recognize it as a metaphor is a common word to create new words. A word that people can't tell is figurative language any more is called a "dead metaphor" (which is itself one). I dislike using the phrase "a lot" in essays because it is a dead metaphor, and so I think it should not be used in formal writing, but my students don't recognize it as a metaphor ("a lot" is an area of ground full of something, you can't literally have "a lot of time," so we disagree.
However, using figurative in personal essays (like the ones in our class) and narratives is a strong positive if you do it in a creative, original way. If you are unoriginal about it, though, it becomes a negative, still worse if you are unaware that you are using informal English. Kids use the word "versed" to me "competed against," as in, "We versed Long Valley last night." This a very useful slang word, since there's no transitive English verb that says quite the same thing. The formal English word would be "played," but "to play" someone in a game has connotations of friendship and lightheartedness. In a competitive game between two teams, people want to connote aggressiveness and intense competition, so they have created the new slang term "versed." One day, "versed" will probably be a legitimate English word, usable in adult conversation. However, it isn't yet, so you don't use it in essays. Also, a kid using "versed" or "swag" isn't being creative, since they have learned the word from the culture.
Maybe Creative in Speech, Not Creative in Writing
Using Slang "Don't sweat it" for "Don't worry about it."
Dead Metaphors/Hyperbole "She's a monster on the tennis court"
Hackneyed Similes or "He blew in like a hurricane" or "She's as fast as a cheetah and smart as Einstein."
Phrasal Verbs "speed up" for "accelerate"
Creative Figurative Language
Inventing Your Own Slang
Metaphors/Hyperbole That You Have Never Heard Before "There were more broken pencils in my junk draw than maggots in a Wendy's dumpster." "He's a toilet plunger -- you don't notice him until you need him, then, if he's not there, you realize how important he is."
Original Similes "My brother talks so fast, it's like trying to understand a DVD stuck on fast-forward."
Personifying Verbs "The old car belched out a thank you and then wandered drunkenly out of the gas station parking lot."
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