25 ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO WRITE ABOUT LOVE

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Submitted Date 12/10/2018
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As expressed in Elton John and Tim Rice's hit musical Aida, "Every story is a love story." Do you agree?

There's certainly no doubt that love is a powerful force and the subject of many a creative work.

But is the word "love" becoming overused? Is that even possible? While it's surely a timeless treasure when flowing from the lips of your significant other, I'm convinced that any word which has common usage is worth a second thought (or feel in this case). And that's especially true when your heart's desire is to pen a distinguished literary work that captivates the reader. As a freelance poetry editor, I've seen the word "love" used constantly in its utmost simplicity: "I thought you loved me." "You don't know how much I love you."

So let's approach the word with a little more, well ... love, with 25 alternative ways to write about love. To illustrate the different approaches, let's compare them to the phrase that started it all: I love you.

To warm up, simply switch "love" with an evocative, less common word or phrase (but make sure to use that thesaurus wisely, all synonyms are not created equal).

1. I adore you.
2. I'm enamored by you.
3. I'm captivated by you.
4. I lose myself in you.
5. I'm enchanted by you.
6. I'm crazy for you.
7. I'm bewitched by you.
8. I'm enraptured by you.

To stretch those literary muscles, use comparison when writing about a person you love.

9. You are like [simile]...
10. You are a/an [metaphor]...
11. You make me feel like...
12. You make me want to...
13. You remind me of...
14. You are as [adjective] as...
15. You are more [adjective] than...
16. You are unlike...
17. You are [comparative adjective] than...
18. For you, I would...
19. You are the only...
20. It's as if you...

To complete the exercise, focus on your five senses. Build upon your initial comparisons and see (hear, smell, taste, and touch) how far you can go!

21. With your every footstep, I can hear the trumpets of angels blast their morning song.
22. I see you in the sunrise, the canary yellow rays glisten like the specks in your eyes.
23. A loaf of bread rises in the oven, and the smell encircles the room like that of the empty bottle of cologne you forgot.
24. Even the taste of ripe summer berries cannot compare to this sweetness.
25. My feet land in the warm sand. Surrounded by a thousand sunlit pebble kisses, I still think of your touch.

You can use these phrases in a brainstorming session or writing workshop, or you could even revisit your previously written works to identify verses that can use a bit more charm. I'd love, I mean...be delighted...to read one of your original poetic phrases about love (you can use the comments section to share).

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