Metaphors are one of the strongest tools writers have at our disposal. They have the ability to describe things in a way that people understand, without requiring half a dozen sentences to do so. Take these examples:
- He was a beacon of light… or
- Swept away on a tide of emotion…
They’re not bad. Both convey their message quite clearly. The trouble is they are both so overused they border on being clichés and we all know that clichés are bad. Very bad. So the trick is not simply to use metaphors, but to find original metaphors that enrich the writing.
In my other life as a dance teacher I use them constantly. ‘Imagine your hand is a butterfly resting on your partner’s shoulder…‘ sounds far more pleasant than ‘Quit leaning on him so hard…‘
As it turns out, the longer I do this, the easier it is. Where I used to have to wrack my brain for likely comparisons, now they come to me with minimal effort. Sometimes I even delight myself with the gems I find in the hidden pockets of my imagination.
I do find the written metaphors more challenging and a large part of my editing process is eliminating the ones that creep in without me even seeing them. (Let’s face it, how many times can a woman’s heart leap into her throat before someone needs to call an ambulance?)
Yes, it’s hard to do, but isn’t creative writing all about polishing up old ideas and retelling them in new ways? Good, original metaphors enrich text seamlessly, giving the reader an altogether more pleasant experience and that, ultimately, is our goal as writers.
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