The key thing to understand is that narrative exists on many different levels. There’s little that a satisfying story does that a satisfying scene doesn’t need to do, and since stories are ultimately just a collection of scenes, it makes sense to build from the ground up.
What do you want as a writer? To produce great work and find your fair share of readers – that’s a given – but what about on a deeper level? Are you the type of writer who wants to change the world, or do you just love words and take joy in making them dance?
In the simplest possible terms, ‘euphony’ describes a harmonious mixing of sounds, while ‘cacophony’ describes a discordant mixing of sounds. Applied to writing, both terms can describe words, phrases, sentences, and even entire works.
Some writers automatically reach for similes and metaphors at the first opportunity, while others don’t have the instinct to involve figurative language unless prompted by an outside force. Neither side is wrong, and while similes and metaphors are valuable tools, it’s worth noting that, like all tools, they need to be used in the right circumstances. A boring detail expanded via metaphor just makes for a longer duration of boredom, and a complex idea that isn’t actually simplified by its simile is likely to become more confusing.
