Hello writers, and do hope you enjoying the-back-to-work vibe that is filling air in the UK currently… This post includes a short practical lesson above, with transcript below, a useful book and a webinar link you may find useful.

If you’re a Complete Freelance Writing Guide student, then please note that the course now has a checklist for all the exercises, lecture 3 in Section 1.

Thanks to all of you who kept up the writing over the summer and sent work over – I much enjoyed reading it.

Write More Creatively With Metaphor Video Transcript

One of you lovely students mentioned that writing cemented  ideas in your brain, and inspired by this, here is the first of three mindnotes about metaphor and writing.

A metaphor is when we describe something as like something else. Some metaphors, like a snake image for instance are universal. Others pepper our everyday speech; like ‘raining cats and dogs’ or ‘an elephant in the room’.

In this mindnote, I’d like you to ask yourself questions and doodle the answers with a pen and paper or digital means.  In the company of another person, ask yourself ‘ If this person were an animal, what animal would they be?’ ( No need to reveal this exercise to them, unless you’re spoiling for a fight). Doodle that person animal.

Then have a good look around at the place where you work or write or do both. If this space were an object, what would it be? Again, doodle that object and think about the feelings it creates in you. I chose a boat for my space – small, compact, forward moving I hope, most of time – though encountering an occasional wave, and occasionally flying a naughty flag.

Now be aware your choice may show unconscious bias. I hope not too many of you have chosen a metaphor of a prison or clock tower in this exercise.

Having done this exercise, look for opportunities in your writing elsewhere to use strong metaphor. Perhaps your villain moves in an animal way, or the room in which you interview that business titan reminds you of a royal palace from Game Of Thrones… Metaphorical thinking helps with every type of writing to bring color and vividness.

Newsletters For Writers

David Gaughran is a favorite self publishing guru here, and he’s recently been recommending and acting on the advice from this book. As a result I open all his newsletters and find them to be packed with usefulness:

If you’ve been thinking of creating a newsletter, for your readers or for writing clients, then Newsletter Ninja  is a  quick and practical read.

Self Publishing Info

Amazon just held a big seminar in Wales, where I live and which I was lucky enough to go to on Tuesday this week. Mark Dawson of the Self Publishing Formula and LJ Ross, mystery author spoke extensively about they’ve sold 5 million titles between them. Lots more on this in the next blog post here.