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Creating Subject-Specific Metaphors (plus news, discounts, and other fun stuff)

September 3, 2020 by Deena Nataf Leave a Comment

 

 

I hope you and yours are coping with Corona, and sincerely hope that we will see the end of this plague soon.

It’s so good to be back in blog mode! We have many new subscribers, and I’m so thrilled – welcome to all of you!

News and discounts

My new website which, incredibly, is called DeenaNataf.com, is officially registered and under construction! I’m trying to build it all by myself. However, if I get stuck, I’ll be sure to hire a freelancer on Fiverr.

I, too, am a Fiverr Pro freelancer, and am happy to offer discounts with the following links:

  1. If you and/or someone you know needs editing, copy editing, or proofreading, and has never used Fiverr before, both Fiverr and I are offering a substantial discount. This is the link to my special “new Fiverr customer” page.
  2. If you and/or someone you know needs any other service, click here for my affiliate link. You will also receive a discount. There are literally thousands of services offered: websites; design and graphics; virtual assistants; digital marketing and research; video and music; legal, financial, and business consultation; data entry; health and wellness; voice-overs; stylists; online lessons; arts and crafts; etc.
  3. If you have used Fiverr before but are interested in my services, here’s the link to my profile, and here’s the link to my specific service (called a “gig”). Just let me know you’re a subscriber to my blog when you contact me, and I’ll happily give you the same discount as new Fiverr customers.

P.S.

If you and/or someone you know wants me to edit, copy edit, or proofread without going through Fiverr, contact me at Deena@BulletproofWriting.com, and I’ll be happy to work on the project and give a discount.

Gorgeous writing

I’ve just finished all Elizabeth George’s books in her Detective Thomas Lynley series. George is an absolutely brilliant writer; the way she uses description is nothing short of perfect, and her lexicon is awesome.

I like George’s novels, but they’re not for the fainthearted. Her books generally contain graphic violence and language. Most of her plots have to do, even tangentially, with sex. If you can get past all these lovely things, her prose and character studies are like nothing I’ve ever encountered before. Her treatment of a character’s psychology reminds me of P. D. James, but in my opinion, is on a whole other level.

George is also famous for her books on writing, which I highly recommend: Write Away, and her new Mastering the Process: From Idea to Novel. (Affiliate links.)

Gorgeous examples

Here are two excerpts from two of the Detective Lynley books I read this spring. Take a look at George’s use of analogy, metaphor, and simile. Pay special attention to the clothing metaphor in the second excerpt:

[The door] stands open, beyond it a courtyard between whose paving stones weeds spring like unexpected thoughts.

Whoever said April is the cruelest month had never been in London in the midst of a summer heatwave. With air pollution dressing the sky in designer brown, diesel lorries draping the buildings – and the inside of noses – in basic black, and leaves wearing the very latest in dust and grit, London in late-June was the cruelest month. Indeed, it was a veritable hellhole.

You, too, can write like Elizabeth George

I challenge you to create one paragraph in which you use only one metaphor throughout. Here’s my offering:

Allegra’s brisk steps alerted her children to get into Tracking mode. As she entered the kitchen, her three mini-me’s arranged themselves flush left of the refrigerator, waiting for her critical eye. Index finger poised like a red pen, Allegra proofread the kids, assuring herself that shirts agreed with pants, and socks matched the shoes they were modifying. Formatting spoons and bowls in a precise layout on the table, Allegra shot her kids a “save as” look while she went to edit their backpacks.

Okay, it’s no War and Peace, but it’s cute and I had fun doing it.

I’d love to see the fruits of your labors! Send me your one-metaphor paragraph at Deena@BulletproofWriting.com. Perhaps I’ll publish them in my next blog!

Keep well, and I hope to bring you another blog soon. Until then, and always…

Happy writing!

Deena

Deena Nataf

www.BulletproofWriting.com

Deena@BulletproofWriting.com

Filed Under: Writing Techniques

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Hi, I’m Deena Nataf

BulletproofWriting.comI’m a book and journal editor with thirty years of experience in the field. If you write to publish, I want to help you get that first draft written, that manuscript finished, and that book out the door. If you write for yourself, I’ll give you the tools you need to write clearly, write regularly, and write in your own voice. But no matter why you write, I’m passionate about helping you make your mark on the world.

You can see more about me here.

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