Metaphors are wonderful things…when used correctly. For me, metaphors are the spice…the gentle delight sprinkled through quality writing. They are not sledgehammers. They should never be clichéd. And they should be used sparingly to maintain their strength. By the way, similes are metaphors in this man’s army, so don’t get all uppity in the comments. Or do, I don’t care.
Author: JD Mader
JD Mader is an award winning short story writer and novelist. 'Joe Café' and 'The Biker' are out now, as well as 'Please, no eyes'. and the collaborative 'Bad Book'. Mader has been writing for half his life and has no plans on stopping any time soon. Learn more about JD Mader at his blog and his Amazon author page.
A little help from my friends…
Ahhh, Easter is over. I have a sugar hangover that would fell a mortal man. I looked into the innocent eyes of my three year old daughter and tried to explain why a bunny would bring her candy in the middle of the night (she asked, she’s a sharp one). Strange thing, that. I don’t know how many times I have told the child not to take candy from strangers…but, it’s OK if it comes from a giant rabbit who breaks into your house in the middle of the night. Hmmm. I think she is humoring us. And it is a dangerous message. Almost as much as Disney (Copyright, all rights reserved, appropriate trademarks and kow-towing implied…please don’t sue us) convincing my daughter that “poison” makes you fall into a beautiful, peaceful sleep until a handsome chap on a horse comes and kisses you and you wake up and fall in love. Thanks capital D Disney. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, my head hurts, much like it did when I woke up in an alley with the taste of Robotussin in my mouth and no pants only to find out months later I had “co-written” a book. Collaboration. That’s what I want to talk about.
Brave New Reader
The emergence of e-books and the resultant boom in self-publishing has changed the writing world. Some think this is a change for the better. Some worse. I am not really interested in getting into that right now. What I am curious about, and what no one seems to talk about, is the change it has had on the reading world.
When I was young, books were my salvation. I needed escape and books were there for me. I read them…don’t think I ever stopped mid-book…even if they were not that great. It didn’t matter. Once I had started a book, I felt compelled to finish it. I folded down the corners of my favorite pages. I wrote things in the margins. I drew pictures of birds (I was a bird freak). I made the books mine. To this day, the first thing I do with any book I get is write my name in it. It is mine. And I make it mine by the song lyrics I write on the blank pages, the passages I underline, etc.
The IU Crew
Who is in your crew? Who’s in your corner? I’m about to share with you one of the most important things I have ever learned about writing. You need a gang. You need a crew. You need people you can bounce ideas off of. You need people you can vent to. You need to have a group of people who’ve got your six. Why? There are lots of reasons, but the biggest one is that riffing with creative people makes you more creative.