Good morning! I hope this post will help you in your writing journey:
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Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan, Writer’s Digest Books, 1999
Chapter 5: Figuratively Speaking: A “Perception of Resemblances” (Part 1)
“Metaphor, like all components of successful description, begins in the eye and ear of the beholder. It isn’t a fancy embroidery stitch, something with which to embellish the surface of a written piece.”
Is the ability to write metaphorically an inborn trait or a learned skill? Some people seem more naturally tuned to see the world through metaphor. Both sides play a role in a writer’s use of figurative language. But we can all learn to recognize resemblances in the world and to shape the expression of those resemblances.
After reading this chapter, I wonder if I try to force my metaphors instead of letting them flow naturally out of my writing. I need to do more writing to recognize what’s natural and what’s forced.
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Literal language means what it says, using words as defined by the dictionary. Figurative language strays toward the connotation of words and usually implies or overtly states a comparison between two things.
A metaphor requires a “tenor,” the main subject, and a “vehicle,” a concrete image. In the sentence “He carried his guilt like a heavy suitcase,” guilt is the tenor and suitcase is the vehicle.
I wish I’d learned this basic analysis of figurative language rather than diagramming sentences ad nauseum.
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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, 2008
Having been through prep with Flavius, Venia, and Octavia numerous times, it should just be an old routine to survive. But I haven’t anticipated the emotional ordeal that awaits me. At some point during the prep, each of them bursts into tears at least twice, and Octavia pretty much keeps up a running whimper throughout the morning. It turns out they really have become attached to me, and the idea of my returning to the arena has undone them. Combine that with the fact that by losing me they’ll be losing their ticket to all kinds of big social events, particularly my wedding, and the whole thing becomes unbearable. The idea of being strong for someone else having never entered their heads, I find myself in the position of having to console them. Since I’m the person going in to be slaughtered, this is somewhat annoying.
In this teenage girl’s mind, her prep team is as upset about the possible loss of social events as they are about the girl possibly dying in mortal combat.
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I already ran out of space for today. I’ll continue the discussion of metaphor on Thursday.
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