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Metaphor

<strong>Shift imagery</strong> Because sports, war and car images are so — yawn! — overdone. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/close-wheel-chain-mountain-biking-landscape-1203946696" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by WiPhotoHunter</em></a>

How to avoid cliché in writing

Shift imagery to refresh your metaphor I was delighted when personal finance writer Tom Saler submitted this analogy in a...
<strong>Don’t let readers burn out on your message</strong> Search and destroy lifeless cliches. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/close-one-used-matchstick-row-new-385192516" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Image by Joey Chung</em></a>

How to avoid clichés in your message

Turn hackneyed phrases into fresh, exciting metaphors Academics call clichés dead language. Don’t let readers burn...
<strong>4 ways to research metaphor</strong> 1) Ask your subject-matter expert; 2) Use Google as your dictionary; 3) Research online; 4) Get a quick online education. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/man-carries-large-gift-box-art-2221141597" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by svetazi</em></a>

How to handle metaphor research

Go beyond the interview My writing team had one of those tough assignments recently that only a geek like me...
<strong>Better than the muse</strong> Want to write great metaphors? Practice these 3 approaches for creating vivid analogies. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-year-2023-balloons-on-white-2224942137" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Coco Ibet</em></a>

How to create metaphors and similes

3 ways to craft clever figures of speech When a Hollywood pitchman wants to sell a new horror film about...
<strong>Get the message across</strong> One metaphor is more persuasive than more. Choose a single metaphor, and stick with it. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/megaphone-shadow-on-isolated-background-art-2063697719" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by svetazi</em></a>

Don’t mix metaphors — and other metaphor ‘don’ts’

Do sync with the subject, don’t write a groaner Don’t mix metaphors. Fewer are more persuasive. Choose one concept for...
<strong>Make the most of 2023 </strong>with these writing resolutions.

New Year’s Writing Resolutions

8 of my favorite tips for 2023 I’m a poor resolver. For many years, my New Year’s Resolution was “I...
<strong>The King of metaphor</strong> In ‘All Shook Up,’ a touch is a chill, lips are volcanoes and she is a buttercup. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/luga-russia-november-6-2016-stamp-519775597" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Sergey Goryachev</em></a>

What is the purpose of a metaphor?

Metaphor is like Elvis; it shakes us up Why metaphor? The King of metaphor In ‘All...
<strong>Baby, you can drive my car</strong> Grandpa didn’t know from automobiles; he called this a horseless carriage. Analogies help people understand new ideas by linking them to familiar ones. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/1910-style-antique-car-39066751" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by James Steidl</em></a>

Why is a metaphor effective?

People learn through metaphor When my grandfather first saw a car, he didn’t think “automobile.” He thought, “That’s a carriage...
<strong>Visual aids</strong> The way you present, or frame, statistics changes the way people — even experts — perceive them.[/caption]

What’s the effect of statistics in persuasive writing?

Reframe the data to improve decision-making People in one study rated a disease that kills 1,286 people out of every...
Turn populations into people

Turn populations into people

Help readers see a classroom of children Compare the impact of this statement …' “Each day, we lose 30 children...

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