Hey-o, Word-wielders,
Have you ever been reading a book, happily immersed in the characters' lives, engrossed with the plot, and loving the setting, when suddenly you find a line like this:
"It was pitch black outside."
Do lines like this make you roll your eyes and groan? That's because that is not a good example of creative writing. That, word-wielders, is a cliché.
cliché: a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
Now that is not a compliment.
Unless it is necessary (like to make dialogue sound natural or because the voice of the character requires it) we as writers should veer away from phrases like this. Use creative similes, metaphors that suit your story (or poem's) world, and descriptions that blow away your reader. And today, that is what I'm going to (continue) talking about.
Starting with descriptions. Skip boring lines like, "The gorgeous sunrise," or "The air was freezing." Try lines like, "God painted the sky a masterpiece of faded pinks and fiery reds," and "Jayla nose prickled from the frosty air." Don't overflow your work with wordy phrases, but don't just stick to short, mundane ones either. Show us the world you've created.
For metaphors and similes, it can, for some people, be easy to slip into clichés like "cold as ice," "white as a ghost," or "it's raining cats and dogs." While, like I said before, there is a time and a place where these will make your characters voices sound more natural, there is also a world of creative metaphors and similes you can discover for yourself.
So, onto some practical tips for creating your own descriptions, metaphors and similes.
- Look, Feel, Listen, etc.
Take a paper and pencil. Walk through your day, and really think about what's going on around you. What texture is your breakfast? How do your footsteps sound on your bedroom floor? What does the air smell like outside? On and on it goes. Use these descriptions to help with your writing.
2. Use your story's world
If you can, using your story's world to create similes and metaphors can be great. For example, in my novel-in-progress, My Only Name is Honor, poisonous fogs are a part of the book. To steal from my currant draft, here's a metaphor using the story's world.
"The fog from that morning clouded my mind long after the sun had burned it away . . ."
This is talking about the fog clouding the protagonist's (Honor's) mind after she attempts to save a Kingsman from the poison and thinks she has failed.
So, what can you pull from your story (or poem's) world to create a simile or metaphor tailored to your piece?
3. Read.
Ah, what writer hasn't recommended this before? Reading can open your mind to ways you can beautifully describe your writing, especially books that are deliberately written to be beautiful or poetry.
So what are your thoughts? Let me know down in the comments.
P.S. This year I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo, with My Only Name is Honor. If you are also joining let me know.
May you live for Christ and give Him praise!
~Claira
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