Metaphor resources?

marciayudkin · 07-01-2011, 05:48 AM

I have a copywriting student who is somewhat blind to metaphors, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest a resource that groups related words and phrases according to metaphor.

For example, a headline in my local paper today says, about a Mass. state bill regarding fireworks sales, "Let This Bill Fizzle." The resource I am looking for would enable someone to look up fireworks and list all the things that fireworks do or that you could do with them or about them. It would include "fizzle," "spark," "douse" etc.

Then the student could look up a different reigning metaphor, like navigation and find things like compass, stars, rough seas, hidden obstacles, etc.

Does such a thing exist, apart from a thesaurus?

I am NOT looking for a "power words" collection.

Thanks,
Marcia Yudkin

ThomasOMalley · 07-01-2011, 06:21 AM

Selma Glasser's book, The Analogy of Related Words, is a helpful resource.

Unfortunately, this book is out of print and expensive.

AnniePot · 07-01-2011, 09:15 AM

Yes, I've just searched for it on Amazon - they have several for sale, but they are around $140

Amazon.com: Used and New: The Analogy Book of Related Words: Your Secret Shortcut to Power Writing

RRMarketing · 07-01-2011, 11:54 AM

Stephen King - On writing.

Really basic but it's a starting point.

AG Hohwald · 07-01-2011, 12:07 PM

I think people are able to use this kind of metaphorical device quite capably on their own. A thesaurus is all any competent writer would need...even a beginner to creative writing. How hard was it for you to think of compass, stars, rough seas, etc? How hard would it be for anybody?

The difficulty -- when people have difficulty -- lies not in thinking of a simile or metaphor, but in recognizing the opportunity to use one at all. To remedy this, prescribe a lot of reading, not another reference book. How useful is even the perfect "Metaphorical Word Finder" if you go start to finish in a piece, never noticing you might have used it?

When you're a working writer, and you start to dissect where a Douglas Adams, or a T.C. Boyle, or a Toni Morrison (or even a Gary Bencivenga!) uses metaphors...how often, and how cleverly...you start to see opportunities for them in your own writing.

Spotting the opportunity is 90% of the battle. Most writing is so dull and lifeless that even if your students are shoehorning creativity in, it's still going to set them apart from the crowd.

marciayudkin · 07-01-2011, 12:47 PM

Quote:

I think people are able to use this kind of metaphorical device quite capably on their own. A thesaurus is all any competent writer would need...even a beginner to creative writing. How hard was it for you to think of compass, stars, rough seas, etc? How hard would it be for anybody?

Well, I coach copywriters and I am telling you that I have a student who cannot do this easily on his own.

Everyone is an individual and everyone has unique blind spots and challenges.

Another student has great creativity but a really, really hard time understanding how to put herself in the place of the customer.

It would not be helpful to say to someone, "You should be able to do this. Everyone else can." Instead I am trying to offer resources to help each person along on their acquisition of the necessary skills.

And even those who are better than average at retrieving metaphorical information can use a memory boost from time to time.

Anyone else able to be helpful?

Thanks,
Marcia Yudkin

AG Hohwald · 07-01-2011, 01:41 PM

Sorry if you felt I was being patronizing or confrontational.

And to be frank, I have very little experience as a working copywriter. Limited to one or two pieces I've done for myself, so far. So far be it from me to step on anyone's educational toes.

But where I do have a great deal of experience is in teaching creative writing. And what you describe is a problem we see in probably 75% of untrained writers. We used to call it "metaphor blindness." I've seen young writers with excellent technical skills arrive in workshops with absolutely no soul for creative language...students who sound very much like your own...but leave a semester later writing prose that burst off the page.

What I described above, is what helped them discover and repair their "blind spot" (minus the Gary Bencivenga part).

Just friendly advice, one professional to another. Thought it might be helpful in case you don't find the resource you're looking for.

Hope you find a suitable solution for your needs, and your students.

Cam Connor · 07-01-2011, 03:17 PM

Not really a "metaphor" resource, but I would recommend "Words that Sell", this is a good investment and can sometimes help get the juices flowing if you're having some writers block.

janet beal · 07-01-2011, 08:45 PM

If your student might need more exposure to metaphors, would Bartlett's Familiar Quotations online be of any help? A site called "Online Literature" has it set up as author/work/quote, but using the quote box as a subject query ("rain," "love," "faith" were my first shots) at least would bury your student in lots of other writers' metaphors. Maybe this is too complex but Bartlett's is an old favorite for many things.

07-01-2011, 05:48 AM	#1
marciayudkin Marketing Mentor War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Maui and Massachusetts Posts: 1,226 Thanks: 139 Thanked 645 Times in 305 Posts Social Networking	Metaphor resources? I have a copywriting student who is somewhat blind to metaphors, and I'm wondering if anyone can suggest a resource that groups related words and phrases according to metaphor. For example, a headline in my local paper today says, about a Mass. state bill regarding fireworks sales, "Let This Bill Fizzle." The resource I am looking for would enable someone to look up fireworks and list all the things that fireworks do or that you could do with them or about them. It would include "fizzle," "spark," "douse" etc. Then the student could look up a different reigning metaphor, like navigation and find things like compass, stars, rough seas, hidden obstacles, etc. Does such a thing exist, apart from a thesaurus? I am NOT looking for a "power words" collection. Thanks, Marcia Yudkin
	Author, Meatier Marketing Copy, available in paperback, Kindle, Nook, Audible audiobook “There are few genuine thought leaders in the field of copywriting. Marcia Yudkin is one of them. The strategies she presents in Meatier Marketing Copy are all easy to understand and implement, yet profoundly insightful. If you want to write marketing copy that sizzles and sells, this book is a must-read.” - Steve Slaunwhite, Author, Start & Run a Copywriting Business, Co-Author, The Wealthy Freelancer

07-01-2011, 06:21 AM	#2
ThomasOMalley HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 264 Thanks: 8 Thanked 78 Times in 66 Posts	Re: Metaphor resources? Selma Glasser's book, The Analogy of Related Words, is a helpful resource. Unfortunately, this book is out of print and expensive.

07-01-2011, 09:15 AM	#3
AnniePot a.k.a. Anne Pottinger War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: ½ Way between California and New York Posts: 1,730 Thanks: 1,788 Thanked 841 Times in 495 Posts Social Networking	Re: Metaphor resources? Yes, I've just searched for it on Amazon - they have several for sale, but they are around $140 Amazon.com: Used and New: The Analogy Book of Related Words: Your Secret Shortcut to Power Writing
	Website Services >> Domain Names For Sale << FREE Download: Become A Platinum Level Writer At Ezine Articles With Just Ten Submissions

07-01-2011, 11:54 AM	#4
RRMarketing Conversion Scientist Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 35 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Contact Info	Re: Metaphor resources? Stephen King - On writing. Really basic but it's a starting point.
	Personal Blog On Copywriting Contact me now: Razvan.Rogoz@Gmail.Com

07-01-2011, 12:07 PM	#5
AG Hohwald Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Metaphor resources? I think people are able to use this kind of metaphorical device quite capably on their own. A thesaurus is all any competent writer would need...even a beginner to creative writing. How hard was it for you to think of compass, stars, rough seas, etc? How hard would it be for anybody? The difficulty -- when people have difficulty -- lies not in thinking of a simile or metaphor, but in recognizing the opportunity to use one at all. To remedy this, prescribe a lot of reading, not another reference book. How useful is even the perfect "Metaphorical Word Finder" if you go start to finish in a piece, never noticing you might have used it? When you're a working writer, and you start to dissect where a Douglas Adams, or a T.C. Boyle, or a Toni Morrison (or even a Gary Bencivenga!) uses metaphors...how often, and how cleverly...you start to see opportunities for them in your own writing. Spotting the opportunity is 90% of the battle. Most writing is so dull and lifeless that even if your students are shoehorning creativity in, it's still going to set them apart from the crowd.

07-01-2011, 01:41 PM	#7
AG Hohwald Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Metaphor resources? Sorry if you felt I was being patronizing or confrontational. And to be frank, I have very little experience as a working copywriter. Limited to one or two pieces I've done for myself, so far. So far be it from me to step on anyone's educational toes. But where I do have a great deal of experience is in teaching creative writing. And what you describe is a problem we see in probably 75% of untrained writers. We used to call it "metaphor blindness." I've seen young writers with excellent technical skills arrive in workshops with absolutely no soul for creative language...students who sound very much like your own...but leave a semester later writing prose that burst off the page. What I described above, is what helped them discover and repair their "blind spot" (minus the Gary Bencivenga part). Just friendly advice, one professional to another. Thought it might be helpful in case you don't find the resource you're looking for. Hope you find a suitable solution for your needs, and your students.

07-01-2011, 03:17 PM	#8
Cam Connor Insane Links War Room Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: The U.S.A Posts: 527 Thanks: 332 Thanked 99 Times in 73 Posts Contact Info	Re: Metaphor resources? Not really a "metaphor" resource, but I would recommend "Words that Sell", this is a good investment and can sometimes help get the juices flowing if you're having some writers block.
	"I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more invulnerable than Archilles; Fortune hath not one place to hit me." -Sir Thomas Browne

07-01-2011, 08:45 PM	#9
janet beal Warrior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 6 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Metaphor resources? If your student might need more exposure to metaphors, would Bartlett's Familiar Quotations online be of any help? A site called "Online Literature" has it set up as author/work/quote, but using the quote box as a subject query ("rain," "love," "faith" were my first shots) at least would bury your student in lots of other writers' metaphors. Maybe this is too complex but Bartlett's is an old favorite for many things.