Blog #8: This blog has two
parts: 1) Create metaphors as quickly as you can. Write down that one thing is
another. Don’t censor yourself – have fun. Start with a noun. (For instance, a
house is a cake. A house is a flower. A house is the wind. A house is a clock.
A house is a salesman.) See how many things one thing can become. Some of your
metaphors are bound to be striking and useful. 2) Create similes. What is something
like? Come up with a list of nouns as sentence subjects, then finish the
sentences. (For example: His hair felt like ___________. The dog looked like a
_____________. The room smelled like ______________. The train sounded like
________________. Etc.) Ask yourself which comparisons work. There should be
some similarity in the things compared, more so than in metaphors, which change
one thing into another. Read your likenesses and assess them. Keep whatever
works and consider using some of your similes or metaphors in your story.
a boat is a safe
a boat is a home
a boat is a rollercoaster
a boat is a plank
a boat is a resort
a boat is a coffin
a boat is a turtle
a boat is a sandwich
a boat is a bed
a boat is a blanket
the boat floats like a bird
the boat sails like tumble weed
the boat sinks like a stone
the boat bobs like an apple
the boat sounds like the wind
the boat is white like an egg
the boat is like the furniture store
the boat is like a tanning salon
I think the comparisons "the boat is a plank, the boat is a turtle, the boat is a coffin" all make sense as well as the similes "The boat sails like tumble weed, the boat bobs like an apple, the boat sinks like a stone" all work.
Some of them don't really make sense at all, such as "the boat is a sandwich" or "the boat is like the furniture store"
I don't include a boat in my short story so I don't really think any of the comparisons will be found in my third draft. However, I did think this exercise was helpful for getting my mind thinking of other things to compare something to that would be useful for my short story.
I really liked the metaphor "a boat is a roller coaster". I liked this one because in a way boats can almost feel like a roller coaster when on the open sea, if the waves become big enough it can be quite an exhilarating experience.
ReplyDeleteThe similes that really caught my eye which you used were "the boat bobs like an apple" as well as "the boat sinks like a stone". These two go hand in hand and really stood out to me because depending on if the condition of the boat it will either bob over though waves and water similar to an apple in a bucket of water, or it will sink rapidly as if it were a stone being thrown into the water.
I really like the simile "A boat floats like a bird." I think this was a very clever way to describe how a boat floats across the water as a bird does the air. I think this was a very strong simile and very original, I look forward to seeing that simile in your future draft.
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