Is it stylistically sound to use onomatopoeic words?
I'm writing a non-comedic fantasy novel, and I find myself using onomatopoeic words, like "SLAM!" and "TWISH" (for the shooting of arrows). To my knowledge, onomatopoeic words are almost only used in cartoons and comic books/manga. Perhaps also in cinematography which is derived from set genres. But what about using it in writing, in a non-comedic fantasy novel?
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1 answer
Unlike with comics, you wouldn't want to use sound effects as dialogue or dialogue adjuncts (in comics the letterer makes them separate from actual speech), though you can get away with it in something humorous.
You can, however, evoke sound effects.
The door slammed shut.
vs.
She shut the door hard.
Or
She nocked another arrow, let it fly, and smiled as it hit the target with a satisfying thunk.
vs.
She nocked another arrow, let it fly, and smiled as it hit the target's rings.
These are fairly subtle examples but they each use words one might imagine in a comic but in regular narration. I left out "twish" as it isn't one that ahem speaks to me.
You can also bring sound into the narration more directly. This is basically the point of the sound effects; they're shorthand for narration. Describe the background noises just like you would the scenery. Use sounds for emotional impact just like you would the feeling of air whooshing by (another sound effect word).
Make your auditory world as rich as your visual one. But do it with solid narration, not with shortcuts.
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