What is a simile? Basically it is when you compare something to something else (it comes from the word “similar”). Here is an example: “The dog puked like someone squeezing a tube of toothpaste”. So now we know that the dog has puked, which is a nice image on its own, but we also added a comparison to someone squeezing a tube of toothpaste. Adding this simile (or comparison) makes us think about the dog squeezing its tummy and a big uh…. You get the idea. That’s what simile does.

Look at the flavour you can add to a description with a simile. Let’s take the example of a ball hitting a wall.

1.       The ball hit the wall.

2.       The ball hit the wall like a truck crashing into a mountain.

3.       The ball hit the wall like a wet sock sliding off a sofa.

4.       The ball hit the wall like a hand slapping jelly.

5.       The ball hit the wall like a ball of fluff tickling a nose.

With these different similes we have completely changed the image in our minds of how that ball hit that wall. On its own the ball hitting the wall is a fact, but not a very impressive image in our minds. A truck crushing into a mountain makes us think of fast, loud, dramatic, dangerous, and broken things. A wet sock sliding off a sofa brings mental images of something sliding, sloppily, and squishily onto the floor with a squelching sound. A hand slapping a jelly is a funny image, now the ball is comical, wobbly, with a funny slappy sound. A ball of fluff tickling a nose is very gentle, very quiet, and a bit floaty.

That is the power of the simile. Every example had a ball and a wall, but they give you a completely different mental image. Try adding simile to your writing to give the reader a strong mental image. Try not to talk about dogs puking…