Page 39 of Room to Write asks us to draw at least 25 comparisons between 2 different things: something that’s around you right now, and something else that’s either an object, person, or concept.
I’m going to compare the old Victorian church outside my window to marriage 😉
Response:
1. Soulful, can inspire
2. Houses both joy and grief
3. Immense, sometimes imposing
4. Intricately constructed; always something new to see from a different angle
5. What appears outside is not always indicative of/relevant to what’s occurring inside
6. Wears with time
7. Built one brick at a time
8. Requires faith and commitment
9. Can be alive with song and community
10. Is empty when neglected, hollow and echoey
11. Fundamentally the same structure throughout time, yet must adapt the way it operates to change
12. Needs to be scheduled into a busy life
13. The lushness surrounding it periodically gets chopped away, but does grow back, and more lushly for it
14. Is a vessel of new life, on varying levels
15. You get out of it what you put into it
16. Can house hypocrisy
17. Can’t please everyone all of the time
18. Needs constant maintenance
19. Provides sanctuary
20. Provides education
21. Requires attentiveness—not just hearing, but listening
22. Requires reciprocal communication
23. Requires an open heart and mind
24. Cannot operate without thankless hard work
25. Comes around collecting, making you pay now and then
Reflection:
These were the first 25 things to come to mind, and I’m sure that some of them are redundant with each other—I found it getting really hard by around 18 or so! A very fun and brain-flexing activity, though, when trying to assess all that is similar between things otherwise so dissimilar to one another. Writing involves an abundance of comparisons, after all, as such devices as metaphor and simile help us communicate more vividly and stylistically, drawing parallels within the universe to illustrate the connectedness of all things.