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Searching for metaphors: Editor's Notes #292 July 24, 2019 |
| Hello, —Gilbert A. Chesterton In this issue: 1. Searching for metaphors 2. Tickled my funny bone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 1. Searching for metaphors Metaphors deepen meaning, open new avenues of thought, and delight readers. Even if you do use them from time to time, with one action and two questions, you can be searching for metaphors and reaping the rewards as a writer because skillful use of metaphors can put your work on the top of an acquisitions editor’s pile. First, recall that a metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another in an important way, either directly or indirectly. Two common examples are "All the world’s a stage" and "Don’t burn your bridges." There are aspects of the world that are not the same as a stage, and bridges and pathways are not totally the same. But in each instance, the metaphor creates an image that provokes a deeper understanding. Now for the action and the questions. Writers who use metaphors must first be observers. Pay attention to your senses, all of them. The more you notice about something, the more your mind has to work with when you answer the two questions… ….which are, What does it look/sound/feel/taste/smell like? What does it remind me of? Where you are not dealing with concrete items, but with emotions, you can still ask, What does it feel like? What does it remind me of? This is a tool some psychologists use to help clients deal with troublesome issues. You can use this with characters in your stories and the situations they find themselves in. With just this much, you can create a simile, a metaphor that uses the words like or as. My hands are like chicken feet. I’m as cold as a corpse. To write other types of metaphor, you have to take additional steps. We’ll take a look at those steps in the next issue. =========== 2.Tickled my funny bone A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption. =========== 3. Interesting Web site Here is a list of famous metaphors. http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/famous-metaphors/ =========== 4. Writing prompt Observe your surroundings or consider those of a character in your current writing. Choose something interesting or important from that environment. Ask, what does it look (smell, taste, feel, sound) like? What does it remind me of? If you can’t choose something on your own, here are a few items to think about:
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