Conventions of Literal Writing

What sets literal writing apart from its literary cousin is an avoidance of literary conventions. A literal writer does not entertain his readers with flights of fancy and rhetorical flourishes. Instead, he focuses on describing the world as it actually exists.
The best literal writers are effective critical thinkers. They are conversant with the various philosophical points of view from which people approach their lives. They make a clear distinction between the empirical world and Plato’...