How Many Are Too Much?

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Similies.

How many are too much?

I took a survey last night. The old masters use about one per page.

 

[DG Hear]

Similies.

How many are too much?

I took a survey last night. The old masters use about one per page.

OK JIm, not sure where you mean. On threads, usually one per posting. If I really get happy on the humor page, maybe up to three.

I do prefer the banana but don't use it very often.

 

[TxRad]

OK JIm, not sure where you mean. On threads, usually one per posting. If I really get happy on the humor page, maybe up to three.

I do prefer the banana but don't use it very often.

DG, I read smiles the first time myself and yes dancing are preferred and fun.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

I use similes quite a bit in a story. I try not to saturate a page with them, but I do think they're important to my style of writing. Now you've got me wondering if that's a cop-out.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I use similes quite a bit in a story. I try not to saturate a page with them, but I do think they're important to my style of writing. Now you've got me wondering if that's a cop-out.

I honestly dont know.

One of the writing gurus warns against using too many; so I counted noses in a few classicis. One per page seems to be the average. But I can see where too many similies can make prose into a Johnny Carson-Jay Leno style monologue and parody.

 

[jomar]

I hardly ever use them. I probably should sprinkle a few more around.

 

[OhMissScarlett]

I honestly dont know.

One of the writing gurus warns against using too many; so I counted noses in a few classicis. One per page seems to be the average. But I can see where too many similies can make prose into a Johnny Carson-Jay Leno style monologue and parody.

I kind of judge by making sure the similie works to make the flow of language better. But, you're right, I think there's a fine line between beauty and cheese, as with anything in writing. Know your limits.

 

[CharleyH]

I use similes quite a bit in a story. I try not to saturate a page with them, but I do think they're important to my style of writing. Now you've got me wondering if that's a cop-out.

I'm not sure where I went wrong in reading this series of posts (could be the fact that I'm not wearing my glasses or that I viewed so many nana's at first) - lol - I was about to respond "btw, I prefer acronyms to smilies. I like to keep my readers guessing." But on a re-read before posting, I see I was easily led like a sub on a leash.

JBJ: IMO, I would think that one simile per page would be ample for many writers. For others, even that might be too much. I have read stories loaded with similes (none were Miss Scarlett's stories) and I could barely get through them. However, sometimes, as Miss Scarlett points out, they can be important to a certain story. How many should be on a page is ultimately less important than how many are appropriate to the specific story being told.

This being said and if one must compare, than I prefer metaphors.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

CHARLEY

You try and cover all the bases, doncha?

I use similies for emphatic description. Excellent concrete descriptors show better than almost anything like, the rain slid down the window pane like hot gelatin or the raindrops stung the girls skin like fistfuls of river gravel thrown by asshole boys.

 

[trysail]

A novel simile can make my whole day ( or week or month). It is a fact that good un's are as rare as hen's teeth but that, of course, is what makes 'em so savory. I particularly enjoy those that have regional or colloquial origins and a dash of the cleverness that requires one to reflect for a moment.


Exempli gratia:

"He's as rich as nine yards up a bull's ass."

"He's as tight as a crab's ass."

"She's as smart as a treeful of owls."


I don't have an answer to your question; I am inclined to fall back on Warren Buffett's observation that, "Too much of a good thing is... wonderful!"

 

[CharleyH]

CHARLEY

You try and cover all the bases, doncha?

Not always, JBJ. Although, I do prefer home runs.

I use similies for emphatic description. Excellent concrete descriptors show better than almost anything like, the rain slid down the window pane like hot gelatin or the raindrops stung the girls skin like fistfuls of river gravel thrown by asshole boys.

Mostly, I think similes, like you offer in example, are the mark of amateurs. What is an excellent use of simile to in your opinion?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Poor CHARLEY.

My simile examples are from a famous author, dear. Your remark is why I dont post stories; why invite the toxic bullshit?

I sampled one of Stephen King's stories for similies; one per page is his average.

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

Interesting question. I tend to put them where they fit. Too many can sound corny, but a few sprinkled in properly can give a good perspective of how the narrator views his/her surroundings. Well done I've read some that set a scene better then straight discription. Simple things compaired to blood or candy can change, for example, how you react to what the characters stepping in when they walk into a plain room. Not sure if I'm getting across my meaning properly.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I get your meaning.

To my way of thinking similies pack a lot of information into a few words, almost the way poetry does, and its not abstract nor nominalization.

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

I get your meaning.

To my way of thinking similies pack a lot of information into a few words, almost the way poetry does, and its not abstract nor nominalization.

Exactly. The only problem is when it's missplaced. One of my favorite writers tends to use the same similie several times throughout her books, sometimes repeating them in the same book. Love her stories but I find it jars to see repitition. It might have been clever the first time, but it loses it's meaning after the third. Original ones that fit well and are clever make me smile.

Actually I can piture Stephan King using the ones you mentioned. He's got some interesting ones but it's been awhile since I've read his work. I think the Stand (my fave) has some of the best.

 

[slyc_willie]

Sometimes I use too many similes, I admit. Not too prolific with its uncle, the metaphor, however; I guess I prefer comparison over rhetorical replacement.

If a scene is sufficiently poignant or dramatic, I try to find the right simile to fit. Maybe I see that as a clue to the reader that this is something I want them to remember. I've never counted how often it comes up in any of my stories. That might be something to look into.

 

[slyc_willie]

Exactly. The only problem is when it's missplaced. One of my favorite writers tends to use the same similie several times throughout her books, sometimes repeating them in the same book. Love her stories but I find it jars to see repitition. It might have been clever the first time, but it loses it's meaning after the third. Original ones that fit well and are clever make me smile.

Poppy Z. Brite was one of my favorite indie horror writers when she first came out. She had a penchant for picking an overall theme for her books, such as a specific color. In one of her novels, she concentrated on green; the main antagonist had green eyes, he and his cohorts all drank green Chartreuse liquor, etc. It was an effective simile that was used throughout the story, though sometimes predictable and eye-rolling. I loved her prose, though, and her characters were extremely vivid.

 

[Bianca_Sommerland]

Poppy Z. Brite was one of my favorite indie horror writers when she first came out. She had a penchant for picking an overall theme for her books, such as a specific color. In one of her novels, she concentrated on green; the main antagonist had green eyes, he and his cohorts all drank green Chartreuse liquor, etc. It was an effective simile that was used throughout the story, though sometimes predictable and eye-rolling. I loved her prose, though, and her characters were extremely vivid.

I haven't read her but I've seen plot devises like that used and that I can deal with. What gets me is the same tired comparisons for each character. I have an image of them and it gets mixed when the same similie is used to describe several different people.

I like it when writers are creative (obviously) but some famous ones seem to get lazy after awhile (guess they've earned it)

 

[slyc_willie]

I haven't read her but I've seen plot devises like that used and that I can deal with. What gets me is the same tired comparisons for each character. I have an image of them and it gets mixed when the same similie is used to describe several different people.

I like it when writers are creative (obviously) but some famous ones seem to get lazy after awhile (guess they've earned it)

Well, when the same comparison is used for mulitple characters, or situations, it does smack of laziness. Or lack of imagination. I saw that in Patricia Cornwell's earliest stuff, and a lot of Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire fiction shares the same laziness. Well, last I checked, anyway.

Each simile needs to be tailored for the moment and the character. There's no universality.

 

[Liar]

Similies.

How many are too much?

One more than the right amount.

Totally a non-answer, I know. But that's what you get for a non-question.

How long is a string?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

One more than the right amount.

Totally a non-answer, I know. But that's what you get for a non-question.

How long is a string?

I created the thread for our resident horse's asses to piss in the punch bowl.

 

[TxRad]

I created the thread for our resident horse's asses to piss in the punch bowl.

So, how's your drink?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

So, how's your drink?

How's the cattle?

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Well, when the same comparison is used for mulitple characters, or situations, it does smack of laziness. Or lack of imagination. I saw that in Patricia Cornwell's earliest stuff, and a lot of Laurell K. Hamilton's vampire fiction shares the same laziness. Well, last I checked, anyway.

Each simile needs to be tailored for the moment and the character. There's no universality.

Well said. I have noticed this about LKH too. It worked for her in the first five novels in her series and then it got played out. That's what happens when you've written so many books in a series and don't bother to go back and re-read your own stuff periodically. Not that this is her only problem.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Here are a few from Stephen King: LIKE AN ARMY, LIKE AN EXPRESS TRAIN, LIKE A FIST DROPPED ON A COFFIN LID, LIKE LIGHTNING, LIKE A MOLDY CORSET.

HIS TEETH LOOKED LIKE A PICKET FENCE IN A GHETTO.

SHE GIGGLED LIKE A CHORUS OF RETARDED KIDS.

HE WAS AS HARD AS A BLIND LESBIAN'S NIPPLES PASSING BY A FISH MARKET.