Lately, I’ve been feeling like someone took the iron, got it good and hot, and ironed me out.
This kind of metaphor, what do you think it means? I’m feeling good or I’m feeling bad? I’m a better, starcher person with all my wrinkles ironed out or I’ve been flattened and burned and might not be able to get up again?
Sometimes things pop into my head, images, ideas, scenarios and I realize to me they make sense, I know the emotion that is tied to them but readers might not.
For example, sometimes I want to lay underneath a semi truck. Not really. But sort of. Then I realize, if I write that down, will people think I mean I want to be hit by semi truck? Because I don’t. At all. I think being under a semi truck would be warm and inconspicuous and you could eavesdrop and in real life it would not be good at all but in fake life, I think it would be nice and cozy? See? I’m weird. I’ve lost you. Because that’s not normal, wanting to lay under a semi truck.
We have to think carefully about the metaphors and images we use. Are they clear? Do they need too much explanation? (though that’s not always bad–sometimes that can show a character and make her/him different). The pictures we paint with our words have power. You just want to make sure you’re taking your reader in the direction you want them to go.
And so, lately I’ve been feeling I’ve been ironed out. Flattened. You guess what that means.
Throwing Up Words 