Why are some writers so afraid to make up their own metaphors? I just saw a quote by George Orwell in which he said, “Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print,” and honestly? THAT IS SO REAL!!
Your metaphors should feel like they belong to your story, your characters, your world. If your protagonist is a computer nerd, why would they be boring and describe something as “light as a feather” when they could say it’s uhm idk… “as light as a wireless mouse” or “as easy to carry as a USB stick.” I’m not a computer nerd lol but I hope you get the point: your metaphors should feel personal to your characters and story, they should reflect how they think, what they care about, and the world they live in.
If they’re an athlete, they’re likely going to compare things to their sport or game strategies, etc. They won’t describe their exhaustion as “feeling like a ton of bricks”— they could say it “hits like the last mile of a marathon” or something. If they work at a flower shop they would compare smells and colours to flowers and plants right?
Not only does making up your own personal metaphors and similes help you avoid clichès, it also adds so much depth to your characters and the quality of your writing. It’s also a great way to inject humour into your narrative btw, literally so many benefits…
So yeah. Make up your own metaphors. Seriously!
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