I often use analogies when explaining or attempting to understand something. I like to think I have a knack for it. A good analogy can really help someone better understand something or see it from a new perspective. Recently I’ve been trying to think of one for writing, but I’m stumped.
In a way, writing is like archery. A writer picks words like an archer draws arrows, and with them hopes to hit the target as accurately as possible. The target in the writer’s case is not a distant circle but the perfect expression of an idea or emotion.
I like the bit about accuracy, but the analogy isn’t so convincing when you look any deeper. For starters, arrows are chosen without discrimination, whereas words are selected very discriminately. One arrow is the same as the next, more or less, but that isn’t true of words. So writing is sort of like archery. But there must be another analogy, both witty and ingenious, that fully encapsulates what it is to write, right?
Maybe writing is like fighting a war. I don’t mean as a soldier marching around and shooting at things, but rather some sort of General or high commander. You know, one of the guys who comes up with strategies and clever names, like “Operation Rolling Thunder” or “Operation Magic Carpet” (a real operation, by the way).
Yes, just as a military planner tactfully deploys resources to accomplish an objective, a writer deploys his or her resources (words) to accomplish an objective (write a blog post?). Both require structure. Troops are organized and certain units are selected based on with what the mission requires, sort of like how sentences are organized and words selected depending on the purpose of the written piece.
Alright, so maybe this analogy is neither witty or ingenious (it’s terrible). So what is writing like? Maybe it isn’t like anything. Maybe it’s just… writing.
Thoughts?
Assorted Timbits 