Metaphoric Conversation

Metaphors are great. They have this incredible ability to say something and mean absolutely nothing of what they just said. It's like telling someone "I like cheese" and expecting them to interpret that as "Doctors are smart". I like it when word structure lies to my face and gets away with it.

There are only two types of people when it comes to metaphors. There are those who love them, and those who hate them. There's no in between. I happen to love them. I have been close to several people who hate them. That causes problems, because throughout the years that I have been honing my writing skills, I have become better and better at using metaphors. I incorporate them into almost all forms of conversation. I do it on accident now. It's hard to step backwards from metaphors when I have been using them for so long.

I am often confused by those people who don't enjoy metaphors. There are very few of them out there who can actually explain to me why they don't like them. "They are annoying" is the most common response I get. That or "I like to know what you are saying". Fair enough. But the beauty of a metaphor is that you can make up whatever the hell you want from what I'm saying. It doesn't even have to make sense! That's what makes it great!

See, here's how you do it. If I were to say to you "The wind is the song of my soul, competing only with the hum of the bees in my heart," that could mean absolutely anything! See, I know what it means to me, but if an editor would read it, or a critique, the could take it a completely different way. For example, to them it could mean that my favourite weather patterns are windy days because they make my heart feel warm and fuzzy. I won't tell you what it really means. That's for me. But see, that's the best part of metaphors; I can be completely honest with you, and you'll never even know what I'm saying.

Try it. It'll grow on you, I promise.