Describing Sounds

 People are very visual. Our main sensory organ is our eyes. We think in color, shape, and size, pretty or ugly, light or dark, and judge books by their covers, literally and figuratively. But the world is more than sight. There is smell and taste and touch, and, of course, sound.

Close your eyes. What do you hear?

Parents talking. Chairs moving. My brother typing. The dog stomping around. A coffee mug being set down on the island.

Have you ever tried to guess what's in a Christmas present by shaking the box? It's easy to tell apart a Lego set and a sweater, with just your ears. But it's more than that. You know what wood, paper, metal, and plastic sound like in a box. You know what ceramic sounds like when it hits solid wood.

Every person's walk sounds different. You can tell your dog's elephant-like steps from your mom's cracking knees and your dad's cowboy boots. Every person's laugh sounds different. You can hear a group of ladies laughing through an open door, down a hall and know that your mom is among them. You can tell a fake laugh from a real laugh with your eyes closed.

Describe sounds. There's a wonderful tool for describing sounds called onomatopoeia. Crack, rustle, click, snap, boom are all examples of onomatopoeia - words that sound like the sound they represent.

Describe your cat's meow (or someone else's cat's meow). He doesn't just say "Meow," does he? He says, "Mrow!" when you step on his tail by accident, and makes little murmuring snuffling noises as he noses through whatever's on your floor.

Does someone whisper or shout? Giggle or guffaw? Whine or sing or simply say? Is your character's voice higher or lower than yours? Is it rough or smooth? Do the pitch and tone change a lot as they speak, or do they stay fairly even? Do they speak loudly or quietly, on average? Do they laugh frequently or rarely? Describe their voice.

Flashing lights are wonderful, but what's a fire engine without a siren? Sound is a valuable asset in writing. Do not neglect it.