One of the most powerful ways to communicate your ideas compactly and vividly is to use a metaphor or one of its cousins, simile or analogy.
A metaphor is a non-literal use of language. A metaphor says that one thing is another, quite different sort of thing. To be a metaphor, it must literally not be true. Paradoxically, in its non-literal-truth, metaphor is the most effective way to communicate deeper truths.
We use metaphors to make the abstract seem concrete; to make the unknown seem familiar; to help us to feel that we understand mysterious things, to feel that we can reason about them, to feel comfortable with them. Public speakers use metaphor to craft a "phrase that pays"--the message their audience will take with them. Comedians use metaphor for one-liners. All speakers and writers use metaphor to seek immortality on the pages of Bartlett's.
Shakespeare is remembered for his metaphors:
"This bud of love by summer’s ripening breath / May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet."
"All the world's a stage, / And all the men and women merely players; / They have their exits and their entrances" "Juliet is the sun."
Not all metaphors are powerful. With use, a metaphor can become stale. With extensive use, it can die as a metaphor and take on a literal meaning, as the word "star" in "she is a star."
It is possible to refresh stale metaphors and revive dying ones by simply asking, "What kind of?"
To show how that's done, I devoted about a half an hour while stretched out in my recliner to finding interesting ways to use the metaphor, LIFE IS A STORY. First I asked, "What kind of story?" and I got "a work of fiction" and "a play." From these I also got "a book," which isn't built on LIFE IS A STORY, but I'm not going to turn down metaphors because they were not precisely what I was seeking. Those, however, didn't go far enough. I had to ask again, "What kind of...?": "What kind of a work of fiction?", "What kind of a play?", "What kind of a book?" I got somewhere around two dozen metaphors. Here I'll share six of them just as I wrote them. They can all use refinement and editing.
"My life story would be more interesting if I would allow my protagonist to get hurt."
"Life is a book of recipes: What sounds good? What do I have the ingredients for?"
"It's a fairy-tale life: a sane person, a crazy world."
"I'm waiting for financial backing before staging my life."
"Some are actors. Some are audience. Some are prompters clutching last year's script." (I've used this for a T-shirt design.)
"When your life is a play that's been savaged by critics, refuse to close."
There you have it: by asking, "What kind of...?" you can quickly find an abundance of fresh metaphors to choose among. Not all will be winners, of course, but the odds of finding a winner in two dozen is much greater than finding it in a single stale metaphor.
About the Author
THOMAS CHRISTOPHER maintains a web page, How To Create Witty Sayings, showing some of the most important techniques for creating witty humor.
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