> Here's something specific: I'd like to get better at using metaphor. I don't think you do. Metaphors aren't something that are easy to avoid in writing. Thei

> Here's something specific: I'd like to get better at using metaphor. I don't think you do. Metaphors aren't something that are easy to avoid in writing. Their purpose is to illustrate a concept; if you aren't illustrating a concept, you generally don't need a metaphor. If you are, then you'll be making a metaphor anyways. (Or failing to explain the concept.) > It's.. well, it's just dull. I don't use many metaphors, and I know my writing comes off as very dry. So I'd like to get better at whatever skill or mindset that lets me spice up my writing, rather than my writing plodding dutifully along its lackluster course without any flair in presentation. But this is what you seem to be after. This is style, whereas metaphor is just mechanics. You're looking for cadence, tone, color. So, here's my suggestion: Pick someone in your life who you like listening to. Not for the content of what they say, but the sound of their voice. Give them samples of your writing and have them read it to you. Listen for where they get tripped up or start losing their luster. Those are your problem spots. Ask them what they'd say instead, to achieve the same meaning. This isn't something I've personally done. I'm egotistical enough to appreciate the sound of my own voice, and I've had a lifetime of drinking in affectations of character dialogue. I've had people tell me how my writing and speaking style changes... and traced it back to the fact that I'd been re-watching Firefly recently and was unconsciously affecting a drawl. /shrug Hope that helps.