The Sound
of Good Writing
People use
sound naturally in their speech without being taught. Under emotional stress people tend to speak
in strong rhythm and alliteration.
Danny! You’re a low-down, dirty, lying dog!
Everyone’s
brain is a mental filing cabinet storing the sounds of his native language
containing recordings of what he has read, radio songs he has heard, football
chants, nursery rhymes, curses he has overheard, sermons, prayers, lines from
plays he as seen, etc. This storehouse
of knowledge acts as a resource to the writer or speaker.
To write
fully, a writer should try to appeal to all the senses of the reader. Make a mental note of how places and objects
smell, the taste of strawberries, the touch of silk, the sound of a child’s
laugh. Try to stay as realistic as possible.
…the
crudest honest sentence is a resounding of experience.
Put down in
words a page of sounds you like and dislike.
One of the most interesting sounds in life is the variety in human
voices. Try to work those differences
into your writing, keeping as true as possible to the style and flavor of the
person speaking. Remember, a little can go a long way.
