Tuesday's Inspiration Looking At The Senses - Sound MFRWauthor

 When characters speak to each other , yes, we are using sound but there are many more ways to use a description of sound to enhance fictional works.

Looking at characters. He says or she says but how do they say it. Is their voice terse, a growl a faint whisper. This is the way to use the sense of sound to make the character come alive. Of course there are other ways to show this but for now we're just looking at sound.

One of my critique partners nailed a passage for me. What I'd written was He strode across the concrete." She asked me to describe the sound, especially since this was a suspenseful moment. I went back and wrote. His shoes scuffed across the concrete. The sound alerted her and she tensed. That was better. It brings the characters more to life.

The baby cried. But the pitiful sound of a weeping baby brought her to her feet. So sound not only gives you a picture of the baby but also of a character's reaction to the cries.

When using setting, think of how a house sounds. New house, old house, a house in a romance, a house in a mystery. Making use of sound in these descriptions can enhance the story. Wind whistled through the cracked window is different than rain pounded against the glass barrier to the chaos outside.

So look at sound and when you come to one of those she cried. he said. the house was old. The house was spooky. Take those bits and give the sounds a chance to show more than what the simple statement.

I remind myself about this every time I'm doing a revision. Make sure the sounds of the world invade your story and give a picture to draw people in.