A question about onomatopoeia and descriptions of sounds.

[SillyDaoist]

Can I mix onomatopoeia with sound description? I'm a new writer and I really like both styles, but I prefer to use them together. Can I do this freely if I think it looks better than using just one or the other?

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Yes you can.

 

[TsumiHokiro]

Yup. Just be careful not to make some crazy long stuff. Some readers might find it annoying.

 

[Assurbanipal_II]

Can I mix onomatopoeia with sound description? I'm a new writer and I really like both styles, but I prefer to use them together. Can I do this freely if I think it looks better than using just one or the other?

I would settle for one of them. Both together feel redundant, unless the onomatopoeia entered common use.

 

[Sagacious_Punk]

It's something worth experimenting. I'm dabbling into using onomatopoeia myself, alongside literary descriptions.

Mostly, it depends on your audience/"type" of story - in traditional, professional-level stories onomatopoeia is a no-no stuff, because it's seen as simplistic. In more lighthearted narratives? Go for it. Personally, I think it's a tool as any other: not good or bad in and of itself, but depending on the writer's skill.

Adopting both approaches definitely has merit. Just be mindful to not mix them too much, as TsumiHokiro above points out.

Regards,
Sagacious

 

[Redadam04]

Yup.

 

[SillyDaoist]

Thanks for everyone's help! I'll try to implement this as best I can without filling the text with redundancy...

 

[DarkChaosMagi]

Can I mix onomatopoeia with sound description? I'm a new writer and I really like both styles, but I prefer to use them together. Can I do this freely if I think it looks better than using just one or the other?

Why don't you give an example