Whenever I get confused about what I’m writing about (or thinking about, for that matter) I think of Kafka and the Metamorphosis. Whereas a normal person would say, I feel like a bug; Kafka writes, I am a bug. Removing the writerly simile allows you to get right to it. There are no similes in life. There are only similes in language. Which do you want to write about?
Great point - similes are effective when used sparingly, but overall most of us (myself included - I ramble too much and do too many of these parenthetical asides) need to get right to it and, more importantly, get to the heart of the matter and confront it head on.
(Also, for what it’s worth, I teach tenth grade English!)
Reblogged from B. Michael and His Truly Epic Shit.
July 08, 2009, 12:18am
