Sneeze, cough, sniffle and other sounds
Being that I am suffering from the worst cold (any maybe the only cold) I've had this year, I'm having a hard time contemplating the act of writing. But in the interest of entertaining myself and hopefully my readers of this blog, I wanted to focus on the effect the inclusion of sounds have on us while reading.
Sneeze - a small peep that escaped from the squeezed together nostrils of a sweet southern belle or an explosion that started as a deep intake of breath and shattered eardrums within ten feet?
Cough - the raspy sound made by a two-pack a day cigarette smoker, which makes your own healthy lungs hurt by association, or a dry hacking sound a cat makes when trying to dislodge a hairball?
Sniffle - Tears streaming down the fat cheeks of a child, sniffling in between the gasps for air while in the midst of a hurricane force temper tantrum or the floor littered with used tissues at the bedside while repeating "I can't breathe!" sound?
If you think in terms of the way sounds make us Feel a scene, it seems imperative that a writer take all five senses into consideration when writing. Some scenes may lend themselves naturally to one or two of the senses, whereas others may be more difficult. In writing if you make it your goal to include at least one and more in the significant scenes then your reader will be able to put herself more easily into the eyes of the character.
And now I think I'll cough and sniffle my way back to the sofa to watch some reality TV until I feel better.
Leslie
Sneeze - a small peep that escaped from the squeezed together nostrils of a sweet southern belle or an explosion that started as a deep intake of breath and shattered eardrums within ten feet?
Cough - the raspy sound made by a two-pack a day cigarette smoker, which makes your own healthy lungs hurt by association, or a dry hacking sound a cat makes when trying to dislodge a hairball?
Sniffle - Tears streaming down the fat cheeks of a child, sniffling in between the gasps for air while in the midst of a hurricane force temper tantrum or the floor littered with used tissues at the bedside while repeating "I can't breathe!" sound?
If you think in terms of the way sounds make us Feel a scene, it seems imperative that a writer take all five senses into consideration when writing. Some scenes may lend themselves naturally to one or two of the senses, whereas others may be more difficult. In writing if you make it your goal to include at least one and more in the significant scenes then your reader will be able to put herself more easily into the eyes of the character.
And now I think I'll cough and sniffle my way back to the sofa to watch some reality TV until I feel better.
Leslie
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