A metaphor describes one thing in terms of another so that readers bring some qualities of the second thing to the first. In The hallway was a river of backpacks, the river suggests how students moved together through the hall.
Two ways to write a metaphor
- Make the comparison directly. Her inbox was a waiting room. The waiting room suggests that each message is another person hoping for attention.
- Let a verb carry the image. The news rippled through the office. Rippled brings in the motion of water to suggest the way the news spread.
Keep an extended image consistent
An extended metaphor develops the same image across several phrases or sentences. The hallway’s river might slow to a trickle after the bell. A simile can make the comparison explicit with like, while an analogy can explain in more detail how the two things work in similar ways.
