Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision

BARBARA TOMLINSON

Tomlinson, Barbara. “Tuning, Tying, and Training Texts: Metaphors for Revision.” Written Communication 5.1 (1988): 58–81. Print.

Framing the Reading

We’ve been taught that metaphors are “figurative” language, flowery comparisons that spice up language but are not to be taken literally. And indeed, if one writes, “Amanda glided through the water with the grace of a killer whale,” their reader won’t take it literally (unless, that is, Amanda is a killer whale). But linguists point out that our language is full of metaphors that we don’t really register as figurative. For example, we treat argument as war: “I couldn’t defend my position, so he won that battle of wits with an argument that completely disarmed me.” Not literal? Perhaps not, but we certainly sometimes act as if it’s literal.

In this article, Barbara Tomlinson gathers metaphors that professional writers use to describe ways they develop their writing. She argues that the language we use to describe writing reveals our attitudes and assumptions about the nature of writing. We have included this piece in this chapter because we suspect you talk about your writing in some of these ways without really thinking about what it means to do so. You should: You might be surprised at what you discover about writing, and about yourself as a writer.