tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post4931757817390200837..comments2024-03-29T03:45:01.236-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: Metaphoric Spaces: Magic, Technology and "Big Issues" in Our StoriesJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-5046182334199218802013-02-12T12:25:37.871-08:002013-02-12T12:25:37.871-08:00ABE, you're certainly right about revision. It...ABE, you're certainly right about revision. It's often easier to deal with something that's already on the page than to come up with it while drafting. I like your animal approach - sounds like fun! I'm really glad you liked the article. Thanks for your comment.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-775090965493677732013-02-12T11:05:39.667-08:002013-02-12T11:05:39.667-08:00Here's a comment with some recommended scholar...Here's a comment with some recommended scholarly examinations of metaphor that you all might find useful, courtesy of my friend Byron (on Facebook). Byron says:<br /><br />I whole heartedly agree with your article. I think there's just one thing missing, though. From my perspective, a cursory examination of metaphor can certainly be fruitful. However, for me, I had to slowly wrestle with books about metaphors to really start seeing their pervasiveness and their potential.<br /><br />Here's the books dealing with this subject in a broad sense that I've found particularly useful for anyone who wants to explore further:<br /><br />_Metaphors We Live By_. Lakoff and Johnson.<br /><br />_Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought_. Lakoff and Johnson. (Very useful for getting us thinking about metaphors dervived from one's body shape might affect things considered as non-metaphorical as philosophy and even math).<br /><br />_Persuasions and Performances: The Play of Tropes in Culture_. James W. Fernandez.<br /><br />_Beyond Metaphor: The Theory of Tropes Tropes in Anthropology_. Ed. James W. Fernandez.<br /><br />The reading tends to be on the heavy side, best done in small but regular doses.<br />Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-87662363747520440992013-02-12T07:38:34.105-08:002013-02-12T07:38:34.105-08:00Lovely use of metaphors. Describing a negotiation ...Lovely use of metaphors. Describing a negotiation as a chess game certainly gives the interaction a different flavor than if you describe it as a cannibal attack - words have a lot of power.<br /><br />I think this is one of the places where revision works better than the initial 'vision.' It takes time and thought to get these bits of flavor to meld just right. The initial pass gets the subconscious out there - the revision picks and chooses among the offerings, and selects the best. And then you reinforce the chosen metaphors even further, and remove the not-quite-right ones.<br /><br />I found myself choosing an animal for each of the main characters in the WIP - and reinforcing that mental image when a choice came up, for example, to describe how that character moves. The antagonist sees the animal's negative attributes, while the protagonist sees the positive ones. Anthropomorphizing - yes, but we do it anyway, so why not use it to deepen characterization? Another thing the author can do for the pleasure of the reader.<br /><br />'metaphors are everywhere, and they have powerful links directly into your emotions' - exactly! You've just given me a new way to evoke the reader's emotions by design. Thanks.<br />ABE<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com