Creature sounds

francist44 · Sep 20, 2011

Do I need to use quotes "xxx" with creature sounds, such as:
Clarisenia’s pesky gocees appear from nowhere. They swoop close to her face, repeatedly screeching, go… see…

Clarisenia’s pesky gocees appear from nowhere. They swoop close to her face, repeatedly screeching, "Go… see…"

Also, what is the excepted way to write a creature's sound:
A- Gooo seee
B- Go... se...
C- Go-- se--
D- or ?

Thanks People

Chasing the Horizon · Sep 20, 2011

Yes, when a creature speaks, it gets quotes, just like a human character.

epublishabook · Sep 20, 2011

"Go...seeee" maybe. I have the feeling the sound you want to transliterate implies a short go and a long see, so adding ... after the see is confusing, as it might imply that something is missing in the animalistic quote. I would suggest something like "Go...seeee Go...seeee ..." to indicate repetition of the screech.

francist44 · Sep 21, 2011

Ok, quotes it is.
As for the sound it makes, it's a long Gooo followed by a long Seee. Thus, I guess I should write: The creature screched, "Gooo seee."

Thanks for help.

robertbevan · Sep 21, 2011

"go see" and "goo see" are two different sounds. i'm not being nitpicky here. it's just that once you add more than one "o" in a row, it sounds like a long "u" rather than a long "o". if that's important, it's something to consider.

also, unless you have previously described whatever kind of creature this is, i've got the image of a goose that's struggling to identify itself in english.

francist44 · Sep 21, 2011

robertbevan said:
"go see" and "goo see" are two different sounds. i'm not being nitpicky here. it's just that once you add more than one "o" in a row, it sounds like a long "u" rather than a long "o". if that's important, it's something to consider.

also, unless you have previously described whatever kind of creature this is, i've got the image of a goose that's struggling to identify itself in english.

Nitpicking is OK. So, how do I write a long go with the o sound the way I want?
No Problem here, it was discrided when frist introduced.

JSDR · Sep 21, 2011

Hehehe.... gocees. I see what you did there.

I would write it as "Go...see..."
ellipses usually signify an extension and gradual trailing off of the last sound.

Modification of the word spelling, and you run the risk of making a reader do double work trying to figure out what the actual word is, rather than the meaning you're trying to get across.

Pthom · Sep 21, 2011

You could draw out the long O sound with Hs: Gohhh...seeee.

However, for me, the use of ellipses is sufficient. When used in dialog (as JSDR suggests) they generally indicate a trailing off of the speaker's voice[sup]*[/sup], as opposed to an abrupt interruption, or empty pause, which often gets a dash (--)[sup]**[/sup]:

"Hm, I don't know..." Mary mused [her voice trailing off].

"Well," Jim offered, "It might be due to--"

"Oh! Of course!" Mary cried [interrupting Jim], "Fido's collar is on too tight."

[sup]*[/sup]An ellipsis in text (not quoted speech) is generally reserved to indicate an intentional omission:

When in the course of human events ... we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

[sup]**[/sup]In text, a pair of dashes work much as parentheses do but--as you can see here--with somewhat less disruption to the flow of reading

RichardFlea · Sep 21, 2011

If there is a big break between the words have you thought of splitting it in the text, such as;

The creature screamed "Go..." that faded away on the breeze before exhailing "See...", almost as an after thought.

I agree with "Goo.." Goo is something you step in!

francist44 · Sep 21, 2011

Pthom said:
You could draw out the long O sound with Hs: Gohhh...seeee.

However, for me, the use of ellipses is sufficient. When used in dialog (as JSDR suggests) they generally indicate a trailing off of the speaker's voice[sup]*[/sup], as opposed to an abrupt interruption, or empty pause, which often gets a dash (--)[sup]**[/sup]:

[sup]*[/sup]An ellipsis in text (not quoted speech) is generally reserved to indicate an intentional omission:

[sup]**[/sup]In text, a pair of dashes work much as parentheses do but--as you can see here--with somewhat less disruption to the flow of reading

Hm... seems there's no fixed rule. I think I will just stick with what I origional wrote: Go... see... and add the quotes. Time to go see how many quotes were omitted.
Thanks to all.

Wordwalker · Oct 14, 2011

Another aspect of this: instead of quotes you can italicize (in some submission formats, that's underlining). That's the best way to do sound effects and wordless noises, and for a couple half-clear words like your example it may be more natural (and spooky) to use than regular quotes.

Ardent Kat · Oct 19, 2011

francist44 said:
Nitpicking is OK. So, how do I write a long go with the o sound the way I want?
No Problem here, it was discrided when frist introduced.

I think I've also seen it written as "go-o-o-o" The hyphens between the Os make it clear it's not an "u" sound.

For me as a reader, if it was obvious in context that the creature is saying "go see", the "goooo" spelling wouldn't trip me up. Only if the creature's making sounds I can't recognize as English words, then I'd probably read it as "u."

Creature sounds

francist44

Tenacious to a fault

Chasing the Horizon

Blowing in the Wind

epublishabook

francist44

Tenacious to a fault

robertbevan

practical experience, FTW

francist44

Tenacious to a fault

JSDR

wants moar baddassery.

Pthom

Word butcher

RichardFlea

Foo!

francist44

Tenacious to a fault

Wordwalker

Ardent Kat

Kill your television