I'm teaching a figurative writing class!
Weekly writing prompt #161
Exciting news! I will be teaching my first craft class next month over Zoom on Sunday, June 22, from 1-3p Pacific / 4-6p Eastern. Join me! ⤵️
I will be talking about one of my favorite topics ever: figurative language. Together, we’ll break down different types of figurative writing and reverse-engineer some exquisite examples so you can develop a framework for your own writing.
This all started because, firstly, I freaking love embellished language. For me, it’s what makes for a sublime reading experience 🤌🏼. During my MFA, I wrote a critical essay all about metaphors, and the topic is something I haven’t stopped thinking about. These ideas have been set on a delicates cycle mental swirl ever since. They found a new container when I met the director of San Diego Writers Ink at AWP, and I pitched it to her as a class.
While at the Seattle Central Library this week, I pulled a couple books on the topic to get inspired, including these DICTIONARIES of metaphors and similes (how cool).
My excitement was soon tempered by the fact that many entries were a rotation of our usual suspects: Shakespeare, Yeats, Whitman, Dickens, etc. And ok, I get they’re canonical western authors and yada yada, but YAWN.
Since I make the rules, my curriculum will also explore lines by talented female lyricists and MCs in hip hop, a genre where evocative, clever, and often humorous wordplay is a key feature. The class will be interactive (bc who wants a two-hour lecture—double YAWN!). We will do creative warm-ups to ease us out of a literal headspace, and there will be plenty of time to practice what you learn.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, please sign up!
See you in class,
Jamie
📝 This week’s writing prompt
Just for some topsy-turvy fun, let's turn metaphorical language literal. Take a phrase like “carry the weight of the world,” “break someone’s heart,” or “bite your tongue,” and give it real-world consequences, writing the piece exactly as you imagine it. To submit your writing, reply to this email, comment on this post, or send to nowgowrite@substack.com by Saturday evening.
Last week’s submissions: Writing and the erotic
If you submitted last week, check out the rest 👀
“The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.” — Mary Catherine Bateson
Yay! I signed up -- I'll see you in class