tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008803196079197549.post2246459622929889807..comments2022-10-19T02:42:43.955-05:00Comments on Sharing the Journey: Heidi Peterson's Author Blog: Spenser, Lewis & A Short Exercise in MetaphorHeidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17418854988524303306noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008803196079197549.post-6468048986027631402015-02-27T23:14:58.533-06:002015-02-27T23:14:58.533-06:00Yeah, I need to know my overall theme and what the...Yeah, I need to know my overall theme and what the point of my story is, but metaphors and symbolism and stuff -- if I work at it, it's forced.<br /><br />(Characters taking over stories -- one of the coolest, buzziest feelings ever! And the scariest! Some people are like, "You made these people up. You are not helpless. Make them behave!" But I find making them behave to be boring, so unless I absolutely have to rein them in, I like to see where they take things. But I also love control, so that's a hard thing for me to deal with sometimes.)<br /><br />(And then there are those characters that waltz in and try to take over the whole story even though they're supposed to be minor characters. Some of them are very naughty in that regard and require constant minding! I have one in the New Story who thinks he should get more lines, and is constantly trying to steal scenes. Tsk tsk.)Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008803196079197549.post-86275946936069458922015-02-27T16:45:59.641-06:002015-02-27T16:45:59.641-06:00Hamlette,
Yes. For me I find it helps tremendously...Hamlette,<br />Yes. For me I find it helps tremendously if I have a big, overarching idea, but then I do notice I start getting stilted if I think about it <i>too</i> much. So it's the balance of keeping it in mind -- letting it drive the story forward -- but then not thinking about it when writing Every Single Sentence. :) I've been able to loosen up quite a bit more with my current ODS draft and it's been incredible. (And as a sidenote, isn't it crazy sometimes when the characters start taking your neat, tidy metaphor and running off with it in a foreign direction? :P It's exciting in that the story's coming alive, but nerve-wracking!)<br /><br />And I do think a LOT of the best metaphors are subconscious (not talking about allegory here). So it's in learning how to hunt out and understand the pictures/metaphors/symbolism when they come up in the Bible and good literature and then stocking your brain so they can come out when needed and flow naturally.<br /><br />And yes, I <i>have</i> to get hold of a copy of Frey's book! :)Heidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17418854988524303306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008803196079197549.post-72698546404997460102015-02-26T19:34:29.948-06:002015-02-26T19:34:29.948-06:00In my own writing, large metaphors kind of sneak u...In my own writing, large metaphors kind of sneak up on me. A lot of times when I try to put metaphors and symbolism in my work, it feels forced, but when I'll go back and read over something after it's finished, I often discover I've unconsciously stuck all kinds of archetypes and symbols in it.<br /><br />That book I mentioned on my blog the other day, James N. Frey's "The Key: How to Write Da*n good Fiction Using the Power of Myth" really digs into all the different archetypes we find in literature, and the different story elements too, and although Frey doesn't go into how they resonate with the Bible much that I recall, it's pretty easy to draw parallels yourself.Hamlette (Rachel)https://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com