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Yes. Evoking visuals as metaphors in a way that leaves out verbal explanations of meaning is part and parcel of many (if not most) novels. Your example doesn't quite do this as you state, since i...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
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#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41675 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Yes. Evoking visuals as metaphors in a way that leaves out verbal explanations of meaning is part and parcel of many (if not most) novels. Your example doesn't quite do this as you state, since it tells the reader what to think vs simply using the empty glass as a metaphor for the character's state of mind. I might change it to: > It was midnight. Matthew sat alone. The ice in his glass of vodka had long melted away. He gulped it and pounded the glass onto his desk. He let his breath out all at once and leaned back in his chair, staring at the glass in the middle of the desk, now empty and broken.