Writing with feeling
When you are writing, do not write something cold and mechanical. Write with feeling, your feeling.
Do not sit and ask, “What is a good metaphor for this feeling?” because if you have to articulate in mechanical thought what you feel, you don’t really feel it. You are thinking it.
A metaphor is a method of saying one thing, is equal to another. Her kiss was like the sweet summers dew; at once cold, and tender.
A metaphor is a way of saying you know this to feel like that.
The metaphor evokes a sensation, a feeling. Of course a girl’s kiss will never be like a summer’s dew, but the impression of the two may be very similar to your heart.
Write with honesty- sincerity shines through.
2 comments:
Actually you have no idea how many kinds of metaphor there are. I thought the same as you till I started writing a blog about it. I had to split it over two entries it got so damn big. I'll probably post it next week.
Thanks, Jim, I can believe it- One of my singer/ songwriter friends claims his sole responsibility is to write metaphors for human suffering- while I may not agree with him that all music should be about human suffering and misery, I do agree that he has a responsibility to write metaphors, and damn good ones at that.
It would serve anyone well to keep an eye on Jim’s blog, “The truth about lies” (you can find a link to the blog in the links bar on the left hand side of the page) for his pair of postings on metaphors that’s coming up in the future. Jim is a great source on all things writing, and provides some of the best advice I’ve read.
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