Metaphors in writing
I’ve noticed that most good writing uses metaphors. Metaphors can be powerful–they hold a concreteness, a directness, and a life that other devices lack. It’s important that metaphors be original, though. Cliches rarely add much to writing and often detract from it. Most cliches are metaphors, which means you have to be doubly careful not to use them. People are more likely to remember metaphors; that’s why they often become cliches.
Let’s look at a example. Say I want to describe a table with a lot of staplers on it. (Apologies in advance for the mundanity.) There’s a table in the back of the supply room with staplers on it. Not just a few, mind you–this table is covered in staplers. Open the door and you are faced with an army of staplers peering back at you. Staplers are innocuous alone, but in large numbers–when in battle formation–they can make your soul spasm. Approach carefully–these devils will strike you with their metallic fangs if they get the chance.
I used several metaphors in the preceding paragraph: “army of staplers,” “peering back,” “in battle formation,” “make your soul spasm,” and “strike you with their metallic fangs.” The subject of the paragraph is mundane–a collection of staplers–but it is described vividly: as a menacing army ready to attack. The staplers have a reptilian quality: they peer at you and threaten you with their fangs. This metaphor brings the subject to life. It evokes a vivid picture. It conjures an emotional reaction in the reader, giving him a feeling about the staplers that the mundane, obvious description would not have. Metaphors bring vividness, concreteness, and emotional impact to writing.
Some of what I am calling metaphors may better be described as turns of phrase. In this context, I mean an interesting, lively way of expressing a normally-pedestrian thought. For example, two paragraphs ago I claimed, hoping to frighten you, that a pack of staplers can “make your soul spasm.” Is a spasming soul a metaphor? Maybe. The soul in this case is a metaphor for the body, which can spasm. But there is no extended metaphor–just this short phrase. I think the real point here is to express a common idea–fear–in a novel way. It’s more exciting and surprising to think of a soul spasming, which you may not have done before, than to read that the staplers can scare you. And it’s more rewarding to read something original–only 228 hits on Google for “soul spasm”!–than it is to be confronted with cliches like “scares you out of your mind” or “sends shivers down your spine.”
Conclusion: Metaphors are powerful. They are exciting. They invoke emotions and conjure mental images. They bring life to writing. Use ‘em.