WRITING UP A STORM                                    June, 2009

Gayle Trent

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WELCOME!

I am currently so aggravated I could bite a nail in two. I've had horrible problems with Writing Up A Storm's distribution this month. The Mother's Day e-mail I sent out did not arrive until I sent out the Memorial Day greeting. The Memorial Day greeting obviously did not go out until I sent the first copy of this newsletter (of which I foolishly did not save a copy). In my inbox I got the Memorial Day/Mother's Day explanation e-mail, and the original posting of the June 2009 issue was chewed up and spit out somewhere in cyberspace.

Hopefully, this newsletter will arrive in your inboxes eventually, or you can read it at http://gayletrent.com/newsletter.aspx.

The Virtual Writers' Conference was a terrific success. Thanks to everyone who participated. In case you missed it, this week we had a late entry--an interview with NYT bestselling author turned publisher Deborah Smith--which you can see at http://virtualwritersconference.blogspot.com/.

I'm happy to announce I've sent the manuscript for The Quick and The Thread and the synopsis for Don't Be Crewel (the first two books in The Seven-Year Stitch Mystery series) to NAL/Penguin. I plan to spend the rest of the month continuing to work on those two books (edits for The Quick and The Thread and the first draft of Don't Be Crewel) and Dead Pan, the second book in the Daphne Martin Mystery Series.

As you can see from the above paragraph, I've had a busy month. Therefore, I'm welcoming guest columnist Judy Cullins, who will answer our Question of the Month: What's So Great About a Metaphor?

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful month and that either Yahoo Groups or my computer--whichever is at fault (and I'm leaning heavily toward Yahoo Groups) gets the bugs out of its britches and behaves from now on.

Take care,

Gayle

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IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

QUESTION OF THE MONTH: WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT A METAPHOR?

Answer Provided by Guest Columnist Judy Cullins

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

JUST FOR FUN

LINK OF THE MONTH

MARKET SPOTLIGHT

SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTIONS

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QUESTION OF THE MONTH: WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT A METAPHOR?

Answer Provided by Guest Columnist Judy Cullins

Metaphor Writing - Money in the Bank for Authors

Surprise your target audience. Give them chocolate frosting! After kindergarten we had a lot of subjects to learn. We left the sand box, the nap, and the all day playing with our imagination. No wonder we have lost touch with our original, playful, creativity.Today, we expect to read short, concise pieces. Yet, we can, if we play a little, add more of our original ideas to our book chapters if we use metaphors.

The definition of a metaphor? It's wedding a word to an image, sound or feeling. Metaphor is a fusing of dissimilar entities into one new image. Metaphor asserts a likeness between two unlike things like simile.

Images are word pictures that give language power and richness by involving our senses in the experience. When you wed an image or feeling to something totally unexpected, you produce a new pattern--a metaphor that creates a powerful picture and reader enjoyment.

The purpose of metaphor is to intensify your awareness of the images around you.

Clichés are worn out metaphors. Think the word "nice." Now write specific synonyms for this cliche. In one book writing seminar, we counted 18. Avoid platitudes your mother told you such as "borrow or lend; lose a friend," or "birds of a feather flock together" because your reader will be bored with them and not read on. Write naturally and use literary devices such as similes, personification and alliteration in your chapter summaries and chapters.

Think of the military. They commit the biggest sin "utiilze." as do attorneys and the medical model. Avoid this pompous word in your writing. Simply use "use."

Metaphors create tension and excitement by producing new connections.

Hence, they reveal a truth about the world we previously didn't recognize. The power of metaphor is to surprise us.... Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy, says, "Metaphor builds a bridge between the hemispheres, symbolically carrying knowledge from the mute right brain so it can be recognized by the left as being like something already known."

Tips for Writing a Book with Metaphor Examples

1. Hook your readers with your front and back book covers. When your potential customers glance (about 12-15 seconds) at your front cover and back cover, and see originality there through metaphor, they will gain insight that sheds new light on a familiar concept, idea, event or feeling. Your metaphors hook and seduce them. Now, they will hand you their check or credit card feeling good about themselves for the decision.

2. Start a Metaphor List. Keep it filed where you can find it easily and add to it. Every time you hear a good one, write it down. Use other people's metaphors as a springboard for your own.

3. Notice similes and metaphors in books you read.

Remember the money metaphor for Daisy in the Great Gatsby metaphors?

4. Practice playing with metaphor examples.

How about Writing is...

riding a roller coaster

as painful as a pulled tooth

5. Give a metaphor example in your book title or marketing message, the "tell and sell.

"Self care is...a bubble bath in the middle of a workday."

"Passion at Any Age is the Artist's Way for Seniors."

6. Complete these metaphor starters: Remember to use concrete words--of image, sound and feeling. Forgo all clichés.

I'm as down as

I'm as frazzled as

I'm as happy as (no clams, please)

I'm as dizzy as

I'm as low as

I'm as powerful as a

I'm as sleepy as

I'm as energetic as

I'm as spiritual as

I'm as loose as

Expand the list using the subjects of your book. Think and picture your audience as you create more powerful metaphor writing.

7. Re-define all general benefits in your introduction, "tell and sell," or sales letter. Instead of saying, "Read my book and live life well," make your benefit more specific such as "Read my book and your life will look like...." Or, "Read my book and your life will feel like...."

8. Finish These Statements to Warm Up:

Stress is...

Authentic is...

Health is...

Spiritual is...

Marketing is...

Promotion is...

Goals are...

More life is...

Vision is...

Better Communication is...

More money is...

Let your potential buyer know how they will see or feel themselves after they read and use your book's ideas and suggestions. When they can see or feel it for themselves, they are more comfortable buying. They need to see the results and feel themselves better for reading your book or using your service..

9. Try alliteration just for fun:

"I was as dizzy as a dervish, as weak as a worn-out washer, as low as a badger's belly, as timid as a titmouse, and as unlikely to succeed as a ballet dancer with a wooden leg."

Each of you has the powerful potential for making connections and seeing relationships in your own unique way. Metaphor making is a highly personal and richly creative experience. Play with metaphors and use them in all of your writing--even your sales materials.

Book Coach Judy Cullins helps emerging and professional authors to get started writing your book. Learn more about Judy at http://hubpages.com/profile/Judy+Cullins.

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

- Joan Didion

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JUST FOR FUN

Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff.

--Original Source Unknown

Scary thing? I've done both.

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LINK OF THE MONTH: Writer's Digest Blogs

http://www.writersdigest.com/blogs

Get your daily dose of writing news and inspiration from Writer's Digest editors Jane Friedman, Robert Lee Brewer, Chad Gervich, Brian A. Klems, Chuck Sambuchino, Alice Pope, Kevin Alexander, Scott Francis and Maria Schneider.

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MARKET SPOTLIGHT: Writing Edge

http://writingedgemagazine.tripod.com/id19.html

Writing Edge is a new magazine for writers which is currently seeking submissions. For submission guidelines send an email to:

enquiries@writingedgemag.com

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S H A M E L E S S SELF-PROMOTIONS!

Gayle Trent: My article "Don't Just Sit There! What To Do and What Not To Do at Writers' Events" is scheduled to appear in Issue 10 of Writing Edge. Between A Clutch and

I hope you have a terrific and productive month. Be sure and send in those shameless self-promotions!

Take care,

Gayle

Copyright 2009 by Gayle Trent.

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