In a very literal sense, these phrases are utter nonsense. But, as anyone growing up in an English-speaking country learns, each of these phrases contains a nugget of wisdom or a ‘general truth’ that is being imparted on the reader or listener. Example: Too many cooks in the kitchen– when too many people are working on something, it can end up being more chaotic than helpful. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks– the older you get, the harder it is to learn new things or break old habits.

But imagine, for a moment, that these ancient phrases we’ve heard all of our lives are much more literal than we originally thought. What if too many cooks in the kitchen originated with a disastrous cooking experience hundreds of years ago? What if Pride cometh before the fall originated from a woman named Pride having bad luck, journeying from town to town, and catastrophes brewing in her wake?

The Write Practice has created an excellent writing prompt involving these odd old sayings, guaranteed to get your creative juices flowing. Here’s how this prompt works: Think of an adage. Obviously most adages have traceable origins, you may even know them in the back of your mind. But forget that, for now.

Think of why the adage you chose became a saying. Twist the adage’s meaning around, turn it on its head, be illogical or fantastical or highly scientific- whatever you like. It could come from an alien species galaxies away, from a historical figure, from a literal experience of the adage or a metaphorical one. Regardless of what direction you choose to go with it, think of how that adage came to be and how it made its way into our lexicon. Then write a story about it.

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So just what are metaphors and how can you use them in your writing? Let’s find out.

For starters, a metaphor is merely a figure of speech that makes an implied comparison between two things that are seemingly unrelated but actually share some commonalities. It’s important to note that metaphors aren’t to be confused with similes. Similes also take two concepts, but compare them using “like” and “as.” More times than not, when working with similes, the comparisons are a lot more obvious. For example, “She swims like a fish.” Clearly she’s not a fish, but she’s like one.

Now that we have that cleared up, let’s get back to metaphors.

Unlike similes, the words “like” and “as” aren’t used in these comparisons. Rather, metaphors are more subtle. Let’s look at an example:

“Life is a rollercoaster.”

This metaphor describes the ups and downs that many people endure in their lives—these dips and twists that are much like the ones on a rollercoaster.

This figure of speech is commonly used in poetry.

When included in poetry, metaphors help paint a picture that’s deeper than what is on the surface. Metaphors will encourage your readers to draw a comparison between two things in a beautiful and elegant way.

Metaphors paint a stronger, more vibrant picture in your readers’ minds by describing a person, place, thing or idea in a way that’s not obvious, or maybe wouldn’t occur to them otherwise.

Imagination, creativity and thoughtfulness are important pieces to creating a metaphor. We encourage you to strengthen all three of these writing muscles and create a metaphor of your own.

Copyright Dorrance Publishing, 2017

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