Wonderfully Funny Analogies and Metaphors

Dear Honored Readers,

Humor is good for your spirit, it helps keep you going. It heals you from the tip of your toes, to the top layer of hairs on your head.

To help you keep on going, read my post.

http://www.snopes.com/humor/lists/metaphor.asp

According to SNOPES.COM The following humorous analogies and metaphors came from the Washington Post’s Style Invitational from 1995 and 1999. On the internet they are often credited as collections from actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. Snopes says this is not true. Wherever they came from, they brought so much laughter to David Greenberg at the Oregon Coast Children’s Book Writers Workshop this year that he could hardly read them. That’s when the laughter got so contagious, the whole room laughed with him. I hope these descriptions bring you much laughter.

If you enjoy the following descriptions, you might enjoy Richard Lederer’s Book, “Anguished English.”

I. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse
without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a
formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
II. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and
Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. Instead of 7:30.
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. Traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. At a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land
mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

I hope you are laughing so hard, you feel rejuvenated all over!

Thanks for reading.
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Giveaway complete in 2010.

Copyright 2010 Joan Y. Edwards. All rights reserved.

Eight Character Archetypes to Emphasize the Conflict in Your Story

When I was looking for explanations of the Conflict Archetypes, I discovered that there are also Character Archetypes. We only discussed the usual protagonist and antagonist. It opened my eyes to see a description of these other six types of characters. I’m sure your mind will say, “Oh, yes. I know what she’s talking about.”

You can read the book called Dramatica: A New Theory of Story by Melanie Phillips and Chris Huntley. You can also read an excerpt from chapter 4 of the book at this webpage: http://storymind.com/dramatica/dramatica_theory_book/chapter_04.html

Eight different character archetypes to oppose each other’s way of thinking and acting. Donald Maass in his Writing the Breakout Novel and The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great suggests that each novel must have conflict on each page, in each scene. Thinking of the characters in your novel as serving the job for each of these will do just that. It will bring conflict to your story. These character archetypes will also move the plot along. They can add page turning events and decisions. They will add depth to your writing and reach the reader on different levels. It will explain your story emotionally, from the heart, from the mind, and show possible consequences. I see potential. It’s possible that you already have characters performing these jobs in your story.  See how good you are!

Protagonist/Antagonist Protagonist wants to start or stop something. Antagonist wants to stop the protagonist from reaching his goal at all costs.
Guardian/Contagonist Guardian character is the teacher/helper/mentor who eliminates obstacles and shows the good and the bad things on the path and how to make the best of the situation. The Contagonist character is one who puts things in the path of the protagonist to slow him down. He offers temptations that will keep the protagonist from focusing on the problem, thereby slowing down the chances of his success, but not stopping him. He can be the antagonists second in command to him. A diversion to keep the protagonist from working on the goal.
Sidekick/Skeptic Sidekick character is faithful supporter, has confidence in either the Protagonist or Antagonist. The Skeptic disbelieves and has no confidence in the one that the Sidekick supports.
Reason/Emotion Reason character makes decisions based only on logic. Reason has no heart. Emotion character is in a frenzy and makes decisions based only on emotions. Emotion uses heart.

The eight character archetypes above will get your wheels turning on how to add them to your picture books, short stories, chapter books, poems, or novels.

Since I’ve been introduced to these today, I’ve been thinking of stories where characters played these roles for the author in telling stories.
Lone Ranger’s Sidekick was Tonto in the Lone Ranger.
Yoda was Guardian of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
I’m sure you can think of others.

Please write a comment or ask a question below.

Have fun!
Enjoy living and writing!

Joan Y. Edwards
https://www.joanyedwards.com/flip-flap-floodle

Copyright 2010 Joan Y. Edwards. All rights reserved.

Writing, Inspiration