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Q&A Can we dialoguify sounds?

Quotation marks are for words that are actually spoken. Nothing else. If you must do this, use italics. But don't do this. Don't try to do sound effects. A novel is not a movie. You can describe ...

posted 5y ago by Mark Baker‭

Answer
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Mark Baker‭ · 2020-01-11T04:11:11Z (almost 5 years ago)
1. Quotation marks are for words that are actually spoken. Nothing else. If you must do this, use italics. But don't do this. 

2. Don't try to do sound effects. A novel is not a movie. You can describe sounds, when they are relevant, but don't try to reproduce them. If you want us to hear the sound, tell us what it sounded _like_. "Celine banged on the door, which boomed like a bass drum."

3. Don't tell us things we already know. If you bang on a door, it makes a bang. We know this. Tell us what we don't know. "Celine banged on the door, but the only sound it made was like the footfalls of a mouse on newfallen snow."