Do Your Metaphors Rock?

Do Your Metaphors Rock?

Reader Comments (28)

  1. Sometimes a great metaphor just pops in my head…

    And sometimes it’s like trying to get the stick to fetch the dog.

  2. At least Chris Cornell wasn’t scared to try it out. I think a lot of us are too scared to use metaphors and come off as nonsensical.

    Btw, think the Lakers and Garnett are meant for each other? 🙂

  3. Rico, I’ve got to agree with you about “at least Cornell wasn’t afraid to try it.” He even thought it was a stupid line, but put it out there anyway. And, it’s a good thing, because it worked!

    I think sometimes, we have to turn off our inner editor and just see what happens. It won’t always work, but sometimes it’s worth taking the risk and seeing what happens. If we don’t experiment with new techniques, metaphors, etc., we run the risk of having our writing become stagnant over time.

    Great article as usual, Brian!

  4. Brian – great post. As the publicist for amazing Austin, based – writer/musician/artist Bob Schneider, I can tell you that it is astounding to me how prolific songwriters are in establishing metaphors that take on a life of their own.

    I read Bob’s lyrics often just to see how he does it. My favorite is from his song “Cmon Baby” – “she slipped and fell and broke her heart and now the only thing she does well is fall apart.”

    hmm. is it a metaphor or just a really good lyric?

    either way – great post on metaphors.

  5. I do indeed and he is great. Way beyond the Scabs stuff and last year he toured with the Dixie Chicks. In the Fall, he’ll go into the studio and record a new album and right now he’s on tour all over! He’s also got a great web site that he does – http://www.bobschneidermusic.com . ( I think I officially just did PR for him here now.:>)

  6. Brian you make a very valid point when you say that coming up with the metaphor may take longer than writing the whole of the rest of the piece and I think this is what puts many people off. I personally, however, believe it’s worth the time because if you do it well enough it will remembered for a long time to come and so therefore will the product / service you were advertising.

  7. I have no idea what this article even says because as soon as I saw Chris’s picture my ADHD kicked in and I went over to my finetune for some ‘black hole sun’!

    THANKS for that bit of awesomeness!!! Soundgarden rocks!

  8. Can I join your Inner Circle Gold Mastermind Metaphor Coaching Club before I slide down the slippery slope of anonymousness and die in a cloud of cliches that cloak me like the dead of night 😉

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