Similes and Metaphors-- How, When, and Why to Use Them.

For all you kids who haven't learned about similes and metaphors yet, or the adults who forgot because school was a long time ago; similes and metaphors are basically comparisons. A simile compares two things by saying: "The deer was as graceful as a ballerina," or "The deer was graceful, like a ballerina." Basically, to spot a simile, look for the words like and as. A metaphor is a little more complicated. An example of a metaphor might be: "The deer pranced through the forest, a ballerina on a moonlit stage." That's not a good metaphor, but it makes the point I want it to. A metaphor is an implied comparison.
A metaphor can be used for the same purpose as a simile-- to make an image clearer-- or lots of other things. For example, in my upcoming novel, two evil characters are playing chess. (Well, they're not evil, just misunderstood.) One uses a black pawn to topple the white king. This is a metaphor for how he'll take the throne of the other character's home planet. 

A metaphor can be a sentence, an image, a dream, even a whole book. As long as you're using something to mean something else, you're writing a metaphor.

So similes and metaphors are great. But when do you use them? And why?

When to use them? Well, some people say you should only have one comparison per page. I'm inclined to disagree. But they have a point. Too many comparisons and your readers will just get confused. My rule of thumb is that when just describing something doesn't draw a clear enough picture, you need a comparison to help readers form the correct image.

Why? Well, here's why. You've just written: "The man was very tall, but walked with his shoulders hunched in an awkward shuffle. His skin was pale, almost gray, and his face was covered in stitches and bruises. He had black hair and moaned a lot. His eyes stared at nothing." Why not compress that down into, "The man looked like Frankenstein,"? You'll save a lot of space, and you'll put a clearer picture into your readers' heads.

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!