The subsequent installment, The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol. 4: 1944-1947 (public library) is an equally rich treasure trove of wisdom on everything from life to love to the art of writing. In fact, Nin’s gift shines most powerfully when she addresses all of these subjects and more in just a few ripe sentences.
Such is the case with the following exquisite letter of advice she sent to a seventeen-year-old aspiring author by the name of Leonard W., whom she had taken under her wing as creative mentor. Nin writes:
I like to live always at the beginnings of life, not at their end. We all lose some of our faith under the oppression of mad leaders, insane history, pathologic cruelties of daily life. I am by nature always beginning and believing and so I find your company more fruitful than that of, say, Edmund Wilson, who asserts his opinions, beliefs, and knowledge as the ultimate verity. Older people fall into rigid patterns. Curiosity, risk, exploration are forgotten by them. You have not yet discovered that you have a lot to give, and that the more you give the more riches you will find in yourself. It amazed me that you felt that each time you write a story you gave away one of your dreams and you felt the poorer for it. But then you have not thought that this dream is planted in others, others begin to live it too, it is shared, it is the beginning of friendship and love.
[…]
You must not fear, hold back, count or be a miser with your thoughts and feelings. It is also true that creation comes from an overflow, so you have to learn to intake, to imbibe, to nourish yourself and not be afraid of fullness. The fullness is like a tidal wave which then carries you, sweeps you into experience and into writing. Permit yourself to flow and overflow, allow for the rise in temperature, all the expansions and intensifications. Something is always born of excess: great art was born of great terrors, great loneliness, great inhibitions, instabilities, and it always balances them. If it seems to you that I move in a world of certitudes, you, par contre, must benefit from the great privilege of youth, which is that you move in a world of mysteries. But both must be ruled by faith.
In this post we look at what memory is and how to use memory in writing.
What Is Memory?
Memory is a wonderful thing. Many parts of your brain work together to collect, encode, store, and retrieve sensory, short-term, and long-term recall of events, people, and experiences you’ve had throughout your life. Sometimes, especially with trauma, those memories can be buried deep within your mind. Your brain is trying to protect you from those memories. At other times, a memory is such a beautiful one that even the lightest perfume, like vanilla, can trigger feel-good emotions within you.
Memories
All your memories will fall into either the ‘these are a few of my favourite things’ column. Others will be in the ‘do not open this box’ column. But all of them are useful to a writer. They are an almost inexhaustible resource. Don’t be afraid to use them. In fact, using them is almost a requirement when creating a good story.
You will have memories of:
People you loved – parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings, cousins, friends, boyfriends, spouses, children.
People with whom you were friends or enemies.
People you met once.
People you interact with everyday but don’t know personally – your local coffee shop barista, for example.
People you see everyday but don’t really interact with – the security guard outside the building you pass on the way to work.
Interiors – offices, malls, shops, doctor’s surgeries, hospitals, vet’s waiting rooms, cars, ships, trains, places of worship, pubs, restaurants etc.
Locations – cities, game parks, lumber yards, garden shops, drive-in movie theatres, ice-rinks, the beach, theatres, public swimming pools and their change rooms, university campuses, school yards, etc.
Views – out of windows, from the edge of a cliff, out of an airplane, from the beach across the desert, across a field, in a forest. Don’t forget, views are never one way. Standing on a beach looking out over the sea is one view, but so is turning around and looking back at the fishing village, port, town, forest, desert, other people on the beach.
Animals – pets is an obvious one, but there are also zoo animals, animals you saw in the wild, creatures you see every day; the frog that lives under the broken pot in the garden, the neighbour’s cat, the crow that sits on your gatepost every morning, the hadadas digging for worms on the lawn etc.
Homes – the one(s) you grew up in, your grandparents’, your friends’, the boarding school you might have gone to etc.
Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.
Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.
Every memory is a mine of information.
Physicality – what does the person, place, mode of transport look like?
Senses – what did it/they smell like, sound like, taste like, behave.
Surrounds – was the weather trying to kill you, or did it taste like champagne.
At the time emotions – how did you feel at the time you experienced the event?
Looking back emotions – our feelings about our memories change. How do they make you feel now.
Yes, I hear you say, but I’m writing a space adventure not a memoir! Maybe, but the memory of not being picked up from school because your parents forgot you could easily be used to describe the feeling that an astronaut may feel if their spouse isn’t there to welcome them home after a mission. Of the feeling their child feels when they can’t be there for the kid’s sports day because they’re on a mission to Mars. You don’t have to describe the feeling you felt being forgotten at school, but you can use that confused sadness and anger to inform your protagonist’s emotion.
Every memory can feed your writing, whether you’re writing a period romance, a contemporary thriller, a comedy, or a dystopian story. While it may be your memory, it can be the thing that your character is experiencing. Rummage through your memory for something similar that you’ve experienced that can help you develop believable reactions, emotions, and experiences for your characters. The plot of your book is a series of steps from A to Z. The story is the experiences, encounters, and emotions your characters go through. Use your memories to give those life.
If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.
by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.
Writers know that using the senses is a great way to make stories come alive. Use this comprehensive list of words that describe sounds when you write.
According to Oxford Dictionary, to hear is to ‘perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something)’. Sounds are ‘vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person’s ear’.
You have to use the five senses when you write. Readers want to experience what your characters see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. Using the senses is one of the best ways for writers to learn how to show and not tell.
Writers Write is a resource for writers and we have written about words that describe taste, smell, and touch in previous posts. (We even have one for words that describe colours.) In this post I have included words that describe sounds.
106 Ways To Describe Sounds
General Words Describing Sounds
audible – a sound that is loud enough to hear
broken – a sound that has spaces in it
emit – to make a sound
grinding – a sound of one hard thing moving against another
hushed – a sound that is quiet
inaudible – a sound that is difficult to hear
monotonous – a sound that is always the same and never gets louder or quieter, or higher or lower
muffled – a sound that is not easy to hear because it is blocked by something
plaintive – a sound that has a sad quality
rhythmic – a sound that has a clear, regular pattern
staccato – a sound where each word or sound is clearly separate
Describing Pleasing Sounds
dulcet – soft and pleasant
lilting – a sound that has a rising and falling pattern
listenable – easy to listen to
mellow – a soft, smooth, pleasant sound
melodic – beautiful sound
musical – sounds like music
pure – a clear, beautiful sound
rich – a sound that is strong in a pleasant way
soft – quiet and peaceful
sonorous – a sound that is deep and strong in a pleasant way
sweet – a pleasant sound
Describing Noisy Sounds
at full blast – as loudly as possible
almighty – used for emphasising how loud something is
brassy – a sound that is loud and unpleasant
deafening – a sound so loud you cannot hear anything else
ear-splitting – extremely loud
explosive – a sound that is loud and unexpected
howling – a continuous, low, loud noise
insistent – a continuous, loud, strong noise
loud – a sound that is strong and very easy to hear
percussive – a sound that is short, like someone hitting a drum
piercing – a sound that is very loud, high, and unpleasant
pulsating – strong, regular pattern
raucous – rude, violent, noisy
resounding – a sound that is loud and that continues for a while
riotous – lively and noisy
roaring – a deep, loud noise
rowdy – noisy and causing trouble
sharp – a sound that is sudden and loud
shrill – a sound that is loud, high, and unpleasant
thundering – extremely loud
thunderous – loud
tumultuous – a sound that includes noise, excitement, activity, or violence
uproarious – extremely noisy
Words That Help You Show And Not Tell
Many of these words that help you show and not tell are examples of onomatopoeia. These words imitate natural sounds. ‘It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.’
Here are some examples:
The bees buzzed outside my window.
The wind sighed.
The leaves crackled and crunched under his feet.
Use this list to make your writing come alive.
babble – a gentle, pleasant sound of water as it moves along in a river
bang – to move, making loud noises
beep – a short high sound or several short high sounds
blare – to make a loud and unpleasant noise
blast – to make a loud sound with a car horn
bleep – a short high sound or several short high sounds
boom – to make a deep loud sound that continues for some time
caterwaul – an unpleasant loud high noise
chime – a high ringing sound like a bell or set of bells
chink – a high ringing sound when knocked together, or to make something do this
clack -to make a short loud sound like one hard object hitting against another
clang – a loud, metallic sound
clank – a short, loud sound
clash – a loud, metallic sound
clatter – a series of short, sharp noises
click – a short sound like the sound when you press a switch
clink – to make the short high sound of glass or metal objects hitting each other, or to cause objects to make this sound
cluck – to make a short, low sound with your tongue
crash – a sudden loud noise, as if something is being hit
creak – if something creaks, especially something wooden, it makes a high noise when it moves or when you put weight on it
drone – to make a low continuous noise
fizz – a soft sound that small gas bubbles make when they burst
groan – a long, low, sound
growl – a low, unpleasant noise
grunt – to make a short low sound in your throat and nose at the same time
gurgle – the low sound water makes when it is poured quickly from a bottle
honk – to make a loud noise using a horn, especially the horn of a car
hoot – to make a short loud sound as a warning
mewl – crying with a soft, high sound
moan – a long, low sound
neigh – to make a high loud sound like a horse’s neigh
peal – if a bell peals, or if someone peals it, it makes a loud sound
peep – if a car’s horn peeps, it makes a sound
ping – to make a short high sound like the sound of a small bell
pipe – to make a very high sound, or to speak in a very high voice
pop – a sudden noise like a small explosion
putter – a short, quiet, low sound at a slow speed
ring – to make a bell produce a sound
roar – to make a continuous, very loud noise
rumble – a continuous deep sound
scream – to make a very loud high noise
scream – to make a very loud high noise
screech – to make a loud, high, and unpleasant noise
scrunch – to make a loud noise like something being crushed
sigh – a long, soft, low sound
squeak – to make a short, high noise
squeal – to make a long high sound
squee – to make a loud high noise because you are excited or happy
thrum- to make a low regular noise like one object gently hitting another many times
thud – a dull sound when falling or hitting something
thump – to hit against something with a low loud sound
tinkle – to make a high, ringing sound
wail – to make a long, high sound
wheeze – a high sound, as though a lot of air is being pushed through it
whine – a high, loud sound
whirr – a fast, repeated, quiet sound
whisper – to make a quiet, gentle sound
whistle – to make a high sound by forcing air through your mouth in order to get someone’s attention
yelp – a short, loud, high sound, usually caused by excitement, anger, or pain
yowl – a long, loud, unhappy sound or complaint
Use these words to describe sounds and make your writing come alive.
Wordsmith At Large 