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Q&A Is it stylistically sound to use onomatopoeic words?

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 somet...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:46Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46487
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:24:15Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46487
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:24:15Z (over 4 years ago)
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.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-07-07T17:13:19Z (almost 5 years ago)
Original score: 18