Now-a-days, readers want excellent
writing, but it needs to be straightforward. This makes it all the
more important to place your metaphors and similes in appropriate
places throughout your novel. If you have one metaphor after a simile
after another metaphor...then you will slow down the reader and your
story will sag with the weight of a word picture frenzy in the
reader's overloaded mind.
Using well-placed metaphors and similes
can 1) Anchor the reader to the setting and have them connect
to your character's situation, and 2) Emphasize high emotional
intensity, as implied by James Scott Bell in his book,
Revision &
Self Editing.
Just as a poem begs to be memorized, a metaphor or simile create a memorable
experience for the reader, and etches your story into their mind. I
can think back on certain books and remember their well-placed
metaphors and similes out of the entire 90,000 words. These tools
grip a reader's thoughts and leave a “book”print in their mind
long after the book is closed and put away.
Here are some examples from books that
have printed on my mind:
Anchoring to the setting:
"If Broadway was Manhattan's artery, Five Points was its abscess: swollen with people, infected with
pestilence, inflamed with vice and crime. Groggeries, brothels, and
dance halls put private sin on public display. Although the
neighborhood seemed fairly self-contained, more fortunate New Yorkers
were terrified of Five Points erupting, spreading its contagion to
the rest of them.” Wedded to War, Jocelyn Green.
Jocelyn uses the metaphor of the
condition of the human body to not only emphasize the point of view
of her heroine, an aspiring nurse, but she also gives such a vivid
understanding of the setting that a reader could hardly dismiss this
and move on without allowing the imagery to paint itself in their
mind.
“Through the makeshift curtain that
gave her some semblance of privacy, she could make out Captain
Click's sturdy shadow like a locked gate barring harm's way.”
Courting Morrow Little, Laura Frantz
This book is set in a time of unease
and discord between the settlers and the Native Americans. This
metaphor of Captain Click being a locked gate is appropriate to the
point-of-view of the heroine who is a young woman traveling into
hostile territory. This anchors the reader to the setting not only
through the heroine's perspective, but gives the overall emotional
climate of the setting—one of possible danger at every turn.
Emotional Intensity:
“The man who stared back was not a
man he knew. The careful control bred into him since birth was gone.
In its place he saw a fire-breathing dragon capable of murder.” The
Duchess and The Dragon, Jamie Carie
The image of a fire-breathing dragon is
placed at a time when the hero's emotions are high and his actions
have culminated to a dreaded circumstance. Jamie Carie imbeds this
metaphor in such a way that it maintains the momentum of the story
but shows intensity of the hero's emotion.
“In the domestic cloud of dust and
family, I too can forget the One who sees me, but in eucharisteo,
I remember, I cup hands and all the world is water.
The well, it is still there.
There is always a well—All is well.
I choke out my son's name. His skin is
transparent...glass. And he stares long, brims...quavers...falls. And
I cradle him, the Boy-Man, flood over shoulders.” One Thousand
Gifts, Ann Voskamp.
Ann's moment with her son is filled
with word pictures that emphasize the build to an emotional outpour.
This book takes the use of metaphor to such a deep level, my heart
stirs at every turn of the page.
Metaphors and similes can also unveil a
writer's voice. Ann Voskamp does this amazingly well, not only in the
example above, but consistently throughout the book. Depending on a
writer's voice, these descriptive tools can be well-placed mirrors to
the under-lying tone of the story.
Do you have examples of well-placed
metaphors and similes in some of your favorite books? How about in
your own? Please share!
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Angie
Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the
monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to
impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief.
This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves
salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.
