My Favorite Metaphor for Writing

There are many analogies for writing. Construction is frequently used. Writing is akin to the walls and floors, structure and outline are akin to the foundation, figurative language akin to the furnishing. My favorite analogy for writing compares it to excavating a fossil, and is one that I read for the first time in Stephen King’s book “On Writing”.

In his book (pg 160 on the paperback I have), King mostly talks about the metaphor in reference to plotting out a novel and as an argument a...