Write Fast: Six Comparisons

Six Views – Step 2

Next up, write six comparisons to describe yourself.

My voice sounds like….

This and other starters for comparisons (or analogies) appear in the box below. You’re also welcome to come up with your own. Just remember — do it fast, putting these six views in your Process Notebook when you’re done.

Suggested Time for Activity: 15 minutes

Suggested Length: 1 or 2 sentences per comparison

Your six comparisons can be short or long, depending on how much time you have. Don’t hold back from being goofy or quirky. You can revise these later.

Q. What’s an analogy?

It’s a comparison of one thing to another. An example from me: My voice is like a radio broadcaster’s on a bad day. For this activity, for instance, you could write analogies based on the six objects you chose in Step 1.

Another from me: The picture of my baby son is to love as the sun is to sunshine.

Compare one thing to another.

Writers often use analogies to explain things to readers more vividly and specifically, such as busy as a bee or purple is to grape as red is to cherry. Some analogies are clichés, but they’re also logical statements, even if they make surprising connections.

Common formats include:

• one thing is like another thing
• one thing is as much/less/far/near as something else
• one thing is to this as another thing is to that

If these formats sound confusing, stick to the comparison starters below.

Q. Should I be realistic or creative?

If your goal is to write a more realistic description, that’s fine. But try to surprise yourself. In this activity, the goal is to free up your usual way of defining who you are. Classic analogies aren’t simply wild for the sake of being wild. So consider whether your comparisons makes sense to you at least.

If you want to go wild, go wild.

That said, have fun with your comparisons – if you want to go wild, go wild. Instead of strict analogies, you can opt for simile and metaphor. You don’t have to be a poet, but sometimes it’s a kick to play one: When I think of myself, I imagine a vast and glittering sea, clouds overhead, rain on the horizon, silvery fish darting below the surface.

Yes, another view of me, and it’s not strictly an analogy. Or is it?