August 2025 HTW Minutes

 High Town Writers Meeting 26th August 2025 7pm-9.30pm

Chaired by: Ruth Broome

In attendance: Adam, Fiona, Liz, Ruth, John, Michelle, Suzie, Stuart, Jennie

Apologies: Irena and Sue

1. Housekeeping – 

Thankyou to Stuart for hosting the summer barbecue. He put on a formidable spread of food and some fantastic cooking.The setting was beautiful and it was a glorious day, everyone agreed.

Reminders of Upcoming Meetings – 

Next meeting 23rd September – Liz to chair

Followed by 11th October Workshop – suggestions so far for topics; how to get published and how to get into performance poetry. 

2. Member Updates – 

What has everyone been doing in terms of their writing during the past month?

- Suzie has had another piece published and has been picked to perform at the Shrewsbury Poetry slam on the 6th September at the Shropshire Wildlife Trust (Abbey Foregate). Tickets cost £10 and are available here; The Poetry Slam 2025

- Michelle attended a local festival and was inspired by the poetry performances she saw, she is also trying her hand at writing liturgy poetry. She is signed up to start an 8 week writing course in Ludlow starting in September.

- Ruth has been working on finishing off her pieces she wrote during her online poetry circle and submitting them to literary magazines. She also attended the live poetry event (with Suzie) at the Bridgnorth Library and she visited the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishops Castle which she highly recommends (Jennie reported that Irena’sbrothers book (George Sirtzes) is available to purchase from there.

- Fiona attended the Music and Arts festival where she was showing her art works, one which was sold during the weekend.

- Adam has been writing the third chapter of his Sci-Fi novel.

 

3. Homework from last time –

On the theme of show don’t tell we were asked to write a piece about somewhere we have visited or come from without naming the town. Stuart, Suzie, Michelle, John, Ruth, Adam and Jennie all read out their pieces.

 

4. Writing Exercise - Show Don’t Tell/Imagery

Ruth set a writing task supporting members to practice/develop their skills of writing original imagery, specifically metaphor and simile. (See Ruth’s notes below *)

5. Homework – write a piece of prose or poetry which incorporates some of the imagery (similes and metaphors) you have generated in the meeting or using your list of abstract and concrete nouns. 

 

6. Any Other Business – Liz drew the groups attention to the archive of work written by members which is now stored in the blog.

*Ruth’s notes:

Mastering the art of “show, don’t tell” enriches your narrative and captivates your readers. It brings your story to life, painting vivid pictures and evoking deep emotions. One technique to ‘show’ more in your writing is the use of imagery, i.e. metaphor and simile.

Simile

A simile is a literary device whereby you liken one thing to another, using the word like or as. Sometimes we use similes in everyday language: describing someone as being as sick as a parrot, for instance. By using like or as, readers can recognize that they should suspend their disbelief for the comparison and they are being invited to notice that X is likeY.

Examples of Similes

Mary Oliver – ‘When Death Comes’

‘When death comes like an iceberg between the shoulder blades’

‘When death comes like the hungry bear in autumn’

A simile is often more obvious than a metaphor because of its use of like or as—those two words act as flags to indicate to readers that the comparison is a simile. Metaphors are more tricky in their nature as they attempt to convince readers that X is Y which requires a larger leap of faith on behalf of the reader. 

Metaphor

Is a figure of speech that expresses an action or describes an object by comparing it with other objects, which are generally not related. It is a technique which enables the writer to show the reader (through imagery) rather than tell (through description). It can also add layers to your writing by hinting at some kind of other/deeper meaning, mystery or emotion.

There are four different types of metaphors:

1. Standard Metaphor - A standard metaphor is one that compares two unlike things using the basic construction X is Y in order to ascribe a particular quality to the first. Shakespeare’s line “All the world’s a stage” is a standard metaphor. 

Kimberly L. Briones - An Ocean Of Memories

My family is the ocean around us.

My father is the hurricane,

knocking anything and everybody out of his path.

My mother is the sunshine after the storm (my father),

clearing and calming everything else.

My oldest brother is the sand,

kicked and blown away by my dad,

but warmed with care by my mom…

I am an old ship at the bottom of the sea,

lost, abandoned, but full of memories.

 

2. Implied Metaphor - An implied metaphor is a type of metaphor that compares two things that are not alike without actually mentioning one of those things. For example, “A woman barked a warning at her child.” The implied metaphor compares a woman to a dog, without actually mentioning the dog.

Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings 

But a bird that stalks

Down his narrow cage

Can seldom see through

His bars of rage

His wings are clipped and

His feet are tied

So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

With a fearful trill

Of things unknown

But longed for still

And his tune is heard

On the distant hill

For the caged bird

Sings of freedom.

 

3. Visual Metaphor

A visual metaphor compares one thing to a visual image that suggests an association. Visual metaphors are commonly used in advertising—for example, a car manufacturer showcasing their latest sports car alongside an image of a panther. The metaphor is used to suggest the car is as slick, fast, and cool as the wild animal.

4. Extended Metaphor

An extended metaphor is a version of a metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas of prose or poetry. Extended metaphors build upon simple metaphors with figurative language and more varied, descriptive comparisons.

Metaphors are a great way to liven up bland prose. Good metaphors are:

Image-driven. Metaphors are intended to paint a picture in the reader’s mind about a particular character or situation. When using a metaphor to describe something, make sure that the image is as vivid as possible.

Not overly complex. Metaphors don’t need to be written in the heightened language or ideas of Shakespeare; many good metaphors use everyday language and images that readers can immediately understand and relate to.

Original. This can be tough, but try and avoid clichés or metaphors that have been used in the past. Don’t pick the first comparison that comes to your mind—this is usually the easy choice, and it won’t be as powerful as your second or third idea. Compare the effect of these two metaphors, the first the easier choice and the second pushed a little further: “The snow is a white blanket” or “Th e snow is a scattering of unopened letters.”