I don't understand what to look for in the linguistic of fiction?

There are a wide array of literary techniques, amongst them similes and metaphors. These help the author to give more depth and clarity to what they are trying to express. Some form of linguistic techniques are connotations of a particular word or phrase (using something similar to for descriptive effect)/ Some writers chose to repeat ideas or images, these can act as a motif in their text. This is a recurring subject or idea, and can be used as foreshadowing in certain cases.