Welcome to my final post on crafting an extended metaphor that runs the length of your creative writing. These lessons apply for fiction as well as nonfiction, but for the purposes of this series I've focused on examples from my recently published memoir, Committed: A Memoir of the Artist's Road. In Part One of this series …
Continue reading Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Three
Extended metaphors in prose resonate with the reader, even if she isn't sure what it is the author has done to trigger that resonance. In Part One of this series I explained that making use of a recurring metaphor advances both plot and character development. We looked at how to identify a key theme that needs …
Continue reading Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing — Part Two
I'm honored to have been interviewed by memoir author Kathleen Pooler on her excellent website/blog, Memoir Writer's Journey. I guess I got a bit carried away in my answers to her questions, because she's having to break up the interview into two parts. The first--a discussion of creative insights and inspirations, largely--is now live. The …
Continue reading An Author Interview on Creative Inspiration and the Writing Craft
One element of creative writing that I struggled with in my MFA program was the use of metaphor, particularly ones extended across long passages. I bemoaned my struggle from one of my Vermont College of Fine Arts residencies. But as I progressed in my studies I came to realize I was too hard on myself, …
Continue reading Using Extended Metaphors in Your Writing – Part One
The Artist's Road 