Friday 29 July 2011

Metaphorically Speaking...

Technically speaking, a metaphor is a comparison made without using like or as -- for example, instead of saying as red as blood (which would be a simile) you say blood red. As descriptive techniques go, a metaphor is more turbo-charged than  an adjective because it requires the reader to make imaginative connections inside their heads.  Instead of using a phrase like, her blue eyes widened, which is fairly straightforward, you could say something like her dragonfly eyes flickered blue which would set up associations for the reader and fire up their imagination.

As it says on many medicine bottles DO NOT EXCEED THE PRESCRIBED DOSE, as your writing will become overwrought and indigestible if you do, but used sparingly, it will start to sparkle.

Try writing a list of twenty metaphors and then take the one you like the best and extend it into a paragraph.

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