Groaning - write a drawn out groan or just describe?
- Thread starter Rufus Coppertop
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I don't like sound effects in my reading. That may just be me, but there you go
Yes, it is like putting sound effects, in isn't it? Thinking of it that way pretty much answers my question.
I assume you've reached the conclusion I have, then. In fact, I've critiqued work with extended groans, howls, and such in scenes where a character is suffering--yet I'm chuckling over Ooooo-owwwww-aaaaaii! (What, is that his Hawaiian name?)
Maryn, who chuckles easily
Maryn, who chuckles easily
While it's definitely all whatever the author wants to do, reading sound effects like groans are off-putting for me as a reader. Of course, we all know how opinions are, right?
Depending on the circumstances leading up to the groan, I'd be more likely to use something like:
His face twisted, and a long groan escaped him.
or
Blinking back tears, he groaned.
Depending on the circumstances leading up to the groan, I'd be more likely to use something like:
His face twisted, and a long groan escaped him.
or
Blinking back tears, he groaned.
Sound effects work on occasion with certain sounds. A groan is not one of those sounds. Just tell the reader your character groaned.
*character name* groaned and blinked back tears.
(telling us he/she had a contorted face is kinda unnecessary, because someone has to contort their face to groan anyway)
(telling us he/she had a contorted face is kinda unnecessary, because someone has to contort their face to groan anyway)
I write out a lot of non-word sounds. But I do my damnedest to try and write them so that you can actually hear a real person making the noise. Which, for me, usually means very few vowels. For me I usually write a groan as "Ngngh." But, as has been pointed out, some people just don't like "sound effects.
Me, I have an older MS that includes gunshots. *BLAM* So. My bias probably runs the other way.
Me, I have an older MS that includes gunshots. *BLAM* So. My bias probably runs the other way.
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This.
The sound effects do nothing for me but make me very aware that I'm reading someone try to make sound effects. If you do it enough, the book will hit the wall--bang!
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