Alliteration, onomatopoeia and the sound of your writing

Even when we read silently, we “hear” the words. Writers use sound to create mood and make lines stick.

Alliteration

Repeating the same starting sound: “the silent, slithering snake”. It draws attention and creates rhythm. Hard sounds (k, t, b) feel harsh; soft sounds (s, l, m) feel gentle.

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like what they mean: crash, buzz, sizzle, whisper, thud. They put the reader right inside a scene.

Sibilance

Repeated “s” sounds can suggest whispering, the sea or something sinister: “Snow settled softly on the silent street.”

Do not overdo it

A little alliteration is effective. A whole sentence of it (“Peter’s purple pencil…”) sounds like a tongue-twister and distracts from the story.

Try it: describe a thunderstorm in two sentences using one example of alliteration and two examples of onomatopoeia.