Microcosms: A Great way to add layers to your Writing

When I was looking for ways to add something to my story, most of the things I’ve heard are explaining the use of side characters, fleshing them out, and making this a larger part of the story. All good things, of course, but I went searching for something beyond just that, and I started to recognize a pattern of microcosms that exists in stories.

When I say microcosms, I refer to:

“a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger.”

We’ve seen this on a large scale with stories like Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which is supposed to be a microcosm of society. But the whole story, when used on a small scale, can add a whole other level to your story.

Because you’re synthesizing some element of your story, the reason I think it is such a vital tool to utilize is the same reason I like metaphor and simile because you could say:

“She cries.”

Or you could say:

“Tears flowed like honey down her face.”

The simile compares tears to honey, but as you probably know, words carry weight, which is why they’re so powerful, so honey isn’t just honey. It has property and feeling attached to it. So, the imagery is more specific but allows for more contemplation. Am I referring to the stickiness of honey and her tears moving very slowly down her face? Were they…