Background: the metaphor technique is something I’ve adapted from Suzette Haden Elgin‘s teachings. It’s a terrific tool for destuckifying.
We play with this one at the Kitchen Table and some of my wacky events. It’s mainly an excuse for me to make my “What’s a meta for?” joke, but the results are seriously great.
It’s also how I discovered that I work on a pirate ship. Which helped me with my hackers. And my fear of being beautiful.
More recently we turned my horrid Tickler file into an Iguana Watcher’s Guide And we turned “doing taxes” into a Secret Money Cave where I visit my treasures, take notes in my Pirate Log and make a Tribute to the lands that allow me access to their fair harbours.
Please note the gorgeous new Metaphor Mouse graphic.
Metaphor Mouse power ACTIVATE! Now 97% more awesome.
Blah blah editing. Unpacking (metaphor!) the metaphor.
The situation:
I’m currently working on several very fun secret projects.
And three of them are at the super boring (for me) editing stage.
But not yet at the sub-stage where I can outsource the editing, because we’re still at the part where it’s about content. And it needs my brain.
Except that my brain is not so into it, because my brain is high on Shivanautical epiphanies and being in the zooooom of the creative process. Zoom!
So something needed to shift but I hadn’t really done anything with this. Until I caught myself using the word DRUDGERY while on the phone with Pam.
Drudgery? No wonder I don’t want to spend time on it.
This looks like a job for … Metaphor Mouse!
* Again, this is is just me yelling I AM METAPHOR MOUSE to the song I am Iron Man. Obviously.
Unpacking my CURRENT relationship with this. (EDITING = ?)
What are the qualities, aspects and attributes of the thing that isn’t working (including what *is* working — if anything)?
[+ necessary]
[+ vital]
[+ valuable]
[+ DRUDGERY!]
[+ specialized — not everyone can do it at this phase]
[+ but not special — doesn’t use my genius, other than indirectly]
[+ boring]
[+ takes time away from creative fun]
[+ extremely un-sparkly]
[+ where is the sparkle?!]
[+ not graceful]
[+ avoidance]
Reminds me of?
It’s some sort of physical task that requires effort, can sometimes be engaging but isn’t that exciting.
Painting? No. Spackling.
Way more fun to say than it is to do.
Is there a metaphor here?
Not sure yet. We’ll go with spackling for now. At least I get to say spackling. Spackling!
Schpachtel! Or Spachtel, if you prefer to Germanize the spelling.
Yes, I know I’m distracting you to avoid being Metaphor Mouse. Must. Activate. Superpowers.
Learning more about my IDEAL metaphor (X = ?)
What sort of qualities, aspects and feelings does the thing I want contain?
[+ necessary]
[+ vital]
[+ valuable]
[+ special]
[+ sparkly!]
[+ movement]
[+ flourishes]
[+ attention to detail]
[+ engages my attention]
[+ fun]
[+ energizing]
[+ excitement]
[+ anticipation about the finished product/end result]
Reminds me of?
It seems like … what I want to be doing is a lot like playing with something you’ve almost mastered rather than working on mastering it (practicing scales isn’t fun but doing extra-flourishes once you’ve learned something is).
No, that’s not quite right.
It’s like getting ready for a party. It’s decorating for the Sparkly Dance Party. For a surprise party!
So you’re working on something. And setting it up. And putting finishing touches on it.
But it’s not boring, because there’s music and snacks and energy and excitement, and you’re getting the thing ready for a surprise that will make people happy.
HAPPY!
What do you think, Metaphor Mouse? Are we at metaphor?
Indeed.
We have officially reached Metaphor!
Are we comfortable with this one?
Or do we need an intermediary metaphor to be a bridge (ding! metaphor!) to help you get from where there to here?
I think it’s good.
Streamers! Magic markers! Balloons! Surprises! Icing! Permission to be silly and messy and see what happens!
Yes.
What needs to happen next?
Okay. If “editing” is now DECORATING FOR THE SURPRISE SPARKLY DANCE PARTY … what needs to happen?
And how do we make it more fun?
We’ll need:
- a list of what needs decorating when
- a designated space/time/container for decorating
- engage my Group Leaders at the Kitchen Table for support and cheering
- to use the Iguana Chicken board at the Table
an editing costumea decorating costume (an apron?)- a Sparkly Dance Party decorating soundtrack (and some Dance of Shiva, of course)
- to make a distinction between products (crap, I need a metaphor for products!) that need decorating and HATS that need decorating.*
* A HAT is what I call a “sales page” because sales pages make me throw up. It stands for Havi’s Announcing a Thing, but it actually doubles as a pretty good metaphor too.
Reporting back:
Okay. I only just came up with this one.
But I can already tell that I feel considerably less inclined to go into avoidance mode when I think about editing going into decorating mode.
And I have an experiment planned: to sit in a cafe and do 45 minutes of decorating, just to see how it feels and what it needs.
Excellent.
Would you like to play? Comment zen for today.
You are more than welcome to do your own Metaphor Mouse-ing on something you’re working on.
Or to celebrate with me and/or decorate sparkly hats.
As always: we let people have their own experience, and we don’t give advice (unless someone specifically asks for it).
Decorating! Hats! Mice! Come play.
Follow
Ooh, I love HATs and the thought of writing a sales page makes my head hurt, so…Putting on my Metaphor Woman cape…
I’ll be back later to let you know how the meta-for-ing turned out. 🙂
.-= Hiro Boga´s last post … Finger Painting =-.
You don’t know how I needed to read this . . . today!
Oooh! I am also in the process of editing. Only it is editing a novel…which is a super special fun project for me, though it doesn’t have a lot to do with, you know, work stuff.
I like the idea of thinking of it as decorating! Making it all sparkly and pretty and preparing for a party…although I guess it would be more of a going-away party…but it’s a party nevertheless! There will be music, and drinks, and dancing.
So…do you mind if I borrow your metaphor?
*puts on sparkly party hat*
Hi guys!
@Michelle – of COURSE you can borrow my metaphor. The more the merrier. Drinks and dancing and sparkly hats!
*passes a cupcake*
@Hiro – a cape! But of course.
@Teresa – yay. 🙂
Hmm. May need to do some metaforaging (TM) myself.
.-= Lisa Firke´s last post … Dear Don’s Next Job =-.
Thank you for sharing your thinking in such a detailed way that we can learn from you. Does that make us mini-pirates? Shashbucklettes?
.-= julekucera´s last post … 8. Math =-.
Oh yes, a Sparkly Dance Party decorating soundtrack! With dork-dancing-appropriate music, of course! 🙂
.-= Josiane´s last post … Shifts and transitions =-.
Perfect timing- I just metaphor mouse-d (it’s a verb!)
Helped me get through the drudgery of writing my own HATs (except, of course, they can’t be HATs, because my name doesn’t start with “H”)….and now I BAKE instead of “write sales pages”. Yay baking!
(that fancy link-love link below is my metaphor mousing (it IS a verb!))
.-= Tara´s last post … Baking = Writing =-.
You are just seventeen kinds of adorable and awesome. What a fun take on the dull task of editing!
Aha!
I was just doing some negative filing and was thinking: I really don’t mind filing. I like stuff to be organized.
I wasn’t seeing how the metaphor approach could be useful to me because I don’t particularly mind the stuff you mind. But then it sunk in that its usefulness is for something I really dislike. Cleaning immediately came to mind, so I’ll have to give the metaphors some more thought.
.-= claire´s last post … BearWatch ’10 =-.
p.s. Awesome new logo!
.-= claire´s last post … BearWatch ’10 =-.
Awww he is so dapper and modest in his lil cape. Long live Metaphor Mouse!
.-= Megan Lubaszka´s last post … “You have a book report due tomorrow???” =-.
The coolness of this! You are the Milliner of Biggification!
I always think of drafting as quarrying and editing as (successively) sculpting, honing, polishing. I enjoy it, so it doesn’t need a meta-makover for me.
Plenty of other things do, though 🙂
.-= Lean Ni Chuilleanain´s last post … Knitting: The Good Thing, Bad Thing Edition =-.
Oh, Metaphor Mouse! Thank goodness you’ve come!
Here is my dilemma: my household is currently struggling to improve our financial situation. There are past due bills, credit card crunches, and just generally a big old mess. For the next few months, until we can get things straightened out, we all need to cut expenses, and to tighten our belts.
Tighten our belts. Yes, there’s the problem! I unpack that metaphor, and I find:
[+ restrictive]
[+ can’t breathe]
[+ can’t ever relax]
[+ hungry!]
[+ deprived]
[+ hurting]
[+ emaciated]
[+ wasting away]
Horrible metaphor. It might get the job done, but then again it might not, because who could blame me for rebelling against a metaphor like that? I just might rise up, like one of Les Miserables during the Revolution, demanding bread for myself and my family. Bread, nothing! Let us eat cake!
So, what qualities do I want my metaphor to have?
[+ clarity]
[+ simplicity]
[+ purity, pure essence, essentials]
[+ beauty]
[+ energy]
[+ motion]
[+ freedom (financial freedom!]
[+ liberation!]
Got it! Surfing! It’s just me and my board, out there, riding the waves. Need to be alert and stay on top of things, so I don’t get wiped out, but I can do that — and what a wild ride! Exhilarating!
Now, that’s a metaphor I can work with. I’m not a starving woman — not a starving artist, even — I am a strong surfer, glorying in the wind and the waves.
P.S. I love the new Metaphor Mouse graphic. So endearing!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … An open letter, from me to me =-.
metaphor mouse has helped me to come up with…
The Tidying Tango!
i *loathe* cleaning and tidying and uuurrrbghhh the whole wiping/ putting things away/ never-ending drudgery of keeping a living space organized and nice (with fairly predictable results, too.)
-picking things up and putting them back
–never ends
–boooorrrrrring
–generally unpleasant
–gets me all resist-y
what i wanted:
–to connect to something i loved
–to make tidying feel FUN, like i’d want to do it if I had the choice
–something special
–something where the whole picking it up thing felt purposeful
poof! zap! zam!
‘
the tidying tango! a little bhangra and cleaning feels more like dancing at a small, short-lived party. which involves a dustrag. (but then, don’t all the best parties?)
Havi! Your metaphor of decorating for a party is amazing and fun and so super cool. My insides are like jumping up and down saying yes! No more editing on the project we’re working on either…it’s all about decorating!
In particular I love that it requires now a decorating costume. THAT is going to be so fun for me to shop for and find and use and make sure I know I’m in decorating mode and only for a little while (like 50 minutes) so I stay energized and feeling good.
There’s something extra special for me about this metaphor process. I have see you do it before and I have liked it a lot. This particular Metaphor really got me interested because I have been stalling on a project because editing is boring for me also and we’re still at the stage where the project requires my brain too. Totally the same.
So I was reading and being totally captivated. I am happy. I am grateful. I am going to start metaphoring.
I love you and I love your willingness to share and inspire me. Thank you.
P.S Here’s some glitter for you * * * * * *
.-= Mona´s last post … When You Want Them To Shut Up And They Don’t =-.
Havi, I’ve been reading the metaphor mouse posts for weeks and I see it now. Finally. I suspect it’s because I like the idea of a sparkly dance party! Thank you everyone for sharing your metaphors. It’s extremely helpful. The graphic rocks!
I just realized something: if I ever have a HAT page, it’ll have to be…a KAT page. Which is so weirdly redundant, I may just have to do it!
.-= Kathleen Avins´s last post … An open letter, from me to me =-.
Havi, I love this process and thank you to everyone for sharing their ways of doing it. Just awesome, I am definitely going to adopt it. Thanks!
Havi I love it!
I just unpacked my ‘boring data work’ metaphor from a stressful ‘getting lost’ to a beautiful “Gem-hunting trip to Boutiques in Barcelona” using your framework.
I was thinking about the word ‘product’, – you talked about ‘a thing’ before. Which I love. and it sounds great. and everyone knows that it’s another cool Havi invention (and they never sounde like a product to me)
THANKS and love!
A la Mary Tudor, I have written on my heart “WWHD?”
What Would Havi Do?
Thank you for sharing your processes. Since reading your blog, I have sat down for tea with monsters, flailed wildly for insights, and now am heading off to deal with an overstuffed steamer trunk.
Namaste.
.-= Spike´s last post … Knitalongs 2010–The Ravelympics Post =-.
the metaphor mouse graphic is sooooo adorable! xo
.-= Heidi Fischbach´s last post … Introducing my favorite superhero for oof-stories. =-.
What are the qualities, aspects and attributes of Editing that aren’t working (and any that are if they exist?
– Makes a great product.
– Don’t like looking at my own work
– Perfectionism comes up
– Necessary for project to move forward
– Helps me look better (ego)
– Get judgmental about my writing
– I get too nitpicky/critical
– I’m good at it.
– Boring
Reminds me of?
Editing my mom’s newsletter. Grading my students’ papers looking for mistakes. Pages and pages of kids papers for 5 years…always looking for the wrong ones to mark. So robotic and not connecting and not fun.
Both cases: school papers and mom’s newsletter, I was looking for what could be better but it was not with love that I was always doing it.
I was doing it from a critical place sometimes. Sometimes I liked that it gave me permission to be critical and say that stuff was wrong because I didn’t get to voice my opinion freely in the rest of my life(from my perspective.)
So it came from a place with an edge. That’s why the editing voice I hear now is edgy and critical and judgmental and makes me want to throw the whole thing in the garbage and start over.
Is there a metaphor here?
Not yet, but I like that kids have come into the picture.
Kids in my life are like bacon for a lot of people – they make everything taste better in my world.
Learning more about my IDEAL metaphor: What sorts of qualities, aspects and feelings does the thing I desire contain?
– Makes a great product
– Completes the project
– Fun
– Ease
– Love
– Kids
– Creative
– Connecting
– Forgiving
– Accepting
– Smiling
– Appreciation for my writing
Reminds me of?
The host of Romper Room. She’s dealing with like 6 kids who are all holding a frozen pose…and then she picks them up and pretends they’re statues and moves them to a slightly different spot on the floor while the kids try to hold the same pose.
Like a theater director who is trying to put on a play with kindergartners. Physically moving some of them over here and some of them over there so that they’re standing ” just so” so that everyone can be seen and everyone can shine.
Like a chorus teacher lining up kids on the rafters for the big holiday performance so that everyone’s parents can see them.
Like the year book photographer getting everyone on the rafters for the class picture. Some kids have to be moved around so that other kids can be seen etc. It’s not personal. We’re just trying to take a good picture and get everyone in it.
Like someone directing a play (this idea came up again). Certain kids (sentences/ideas) need to be arranged at different places on the stage at different times.
I am loving with them and empathize if something is up and they are not willing to move yet. I understand. I connect with them. I talk with them. I let them know it’s not because they’re bad. They’re going to be better seen and heard and it will be easier to say their lines if they’re over there.
Yes… This is it.
I am putting on a PLAY!
And I have a bunch of kids/sentences/ideas that are feeling unloved and neglected and unappreciated and it’s my job to tell them of their inherent goodness, wipe off their tears with some love and get them to their right spots so they can shine and smile and say their lines proudly.
Okay good!
If editing is now Putting On A Play For My Kids’ Parents…what needs to happen?
And how do we make it more fun?
We’ll need:
– Designated time to rehearse
– Props (a director’s chair to sit in? a megaphone?)
– Stage lighting (candles that I light just for the occasion?)
– Scripts (the document itself)
– Invitations to the play (emails and autoresponders)
– Set design (ebook cover and graphics)
– Schedule a date to HAVE the play (Launch date)
– Costumes for the kids/sentences/ideas. (headlines, bullets, colors, font sizes, clip art?)
– Lots of praising the kids (telling the sentences and ideas they are GOOD!)
– Refreshments for after the play (special drink I have while I do play preparations)
– Programs to hand out as the parents come into the theater so they know what to expect (sales page)
Have we reached Metaphor Mr. Mouse?
Houston, we have METAPHOR!
Wow – this is really fun. Seriously fun.
I think this is going to be HUGE in helping me enjoy this activity.
It’s like I get to be a teacher again and with all my kids doing something amazing that their parents will come and enjoy.
Plus, it’s really the perfect metaphor because this product IS for parents and it is to help them (and their kids) get along better and be happy together.
So this is a super great metaphor. I am loving this.
First time I’ve ever actually walked through the process. Had no idea where I was going to wind up, but this is great, Havi. I’m really excited. Game changer here for sure. xoxo
.-= Mona´s last post … When You Want Them To Shut Up And They Don’t =-.