Onomatopoeia and Dialogue

[WaveVelour]

Hey~ This has always been an amusing topic for me =) For those who haven’t heard it, onomatopoeia basically means turning sounds into words. All the verbs and nouns you use to describe a sound in a way that the word mimics what you hear. Like beep, bang, hiss, click, woof etc. The topic’s not entirely about them though. It’s more about the dialogues in RPs. It’s more about what is your preferred way of narrating your characters’ reactions. Do you write the sound the character actually makes into the dialogue or prefer to use onomatopoeia or other means to narrate their response?

To give a simple example, let’s say one character’s pinched another’s hand. Obviously there are quite a few ways to write this down.

“Oww! (Ah, ouch etc.)” She jolted in pain.

She shrieked (grunted, cried etc.) as her body jolted up.

The mild pain was enough to jolt her up.

I honestly like making my characters quite vocal, haha. Especially when playing the bottom role, I find it more fun to exaggerate their reactions. Making them react through dialogue is more fun to me. But I heard that usage of Ah’s and Oh’s in quotes is frowned upon by experienced writers?

Anyway, so what is your preferred method, or is there a narration style that makes you roll your eyes. Or do you like mixing them to spice things up a little and for better variety?

 

[WaveVelour]

Yeah, description is important without a doubt! Instead of putting dozens of AAA’s in a character’s yelp or just saying he/she yelped very loudly, it’s better to suggest that the voice could be heard from other rooms or something like that. But you can’t always do that I guess. Similarly though, over describing things can be a needless thing to do. Say, if you’ve already made YC grunt you don’t need to say they’re in pain like what I did in my OP =)

On dirty talk, I think that’s a different topic. I’m not a fan of vulgar language. But it depends on the character traits. What I hate the most is when a character who has been so far more or less polite suddenly becoming foul mouthed just because you’re in a sex scene.

I admit, I don’t like thorough OOC discussions. Sometimes I feel like people are more interested in chatting rather than writing a starter if I’m not writing it myself.

 

[skyfetcher]

Eh, guilty. I'm very prone to putting high regard on OOC that has good parity with the play itself, even if the OOC doesn't have too much to do with the play (although confirming direction and the like is a big boost to me). I've increasingly found the OOC to be a lifeline for where the play sometimes slags, but I digress. Very different from spending a ton of time discussing what to do/what will be done over just ensuring we've got the direction and moving on with other subjects.

I like to use that form of onomatopoeia, but in practice it is problematic. I tend to default to descriptions. I feel my writing is a bit flatter for it since the exclamation does have its viable uses, and 'experienced writers' should note that even in professional writing (as far as you can get for these kinds of scenes >.>) often have some degree of it. But it's the abuse that gets ya. Depending on it, particularly at the cost of description, is what cheapens it out. And it gets quite repetitive, one of my issues with using it. Sometimes the character themselves play into how often the element should be used.

Dialogue can be nifty; it does kinda depend on who the char is even more heavily than the above. I'm fond of dirty talk to a point. Vulgarity doesn't do a great deal for me, but I'm quite uninhibited with its use in roleplay.

 

[Staine]

Personally I'm a fan of onomatopoeia in sex scenes as long as it isn't all there is, there has to be description behind it to power it. It has to be a spice added to the scene and not the whole meal, you know? Another thing I have been thinking I want to try writing with my partner but haven't yet actually is gagged speech. When my character was gagged in a recent scene of course he begged and mumbled and at one point I wrote what he was trying to say so she would know but I wanted to write what it would actually sound like. To me it would be quite sexy, I love hearing my partner in her gag irl trying to talk, the sounds appeal to me a lot so next time I'm writing the scene I'm going to go for it. "Ehh ee oo! Ihh uhhhrrhh!"

Hmm, now that I look at it, not so easy. Still want to try. Any thoughts?

 

[WaveVelour]

Well, it's not that odd, you don't have to be sorry~ When used sparingly, gagtalk could be fun =) If done properly at least. It's in the context of what I was trying to tell actually and a good example!

 

[Lekhika]

I tend to use both the sound like “argh” and a definitive phrase like “balled up her fists in frustration”. I actually like playing vocally expressive characters both in and out of smut. The sound-words can add to the rp along with the sound-effect words like heels clicking, metal scraping. It can make the whole thing feel a bit more like I’m watching a movie. In the past I’ve played characters with a lisp and a stutter, which again can cause words to sound different, much like a gag. Beyond a point, typing that can be annoying. It can also be off-putting to read it too much. So after just a line in a post in that way, I would just mention that she said with her lisp/stutter and trust my RP partner’s imagined voice for MC.

 

[east]

"Bark." Is my absolute favorite word in the english language. It's a discription "he barked his order." it's a passionate cry. "She barked and panted for her master." it's a strong sound effect, and yes it's a vocalization "the dog barked." Honestly any woman who's willing to include barking in an rp even when pet play is not a thing has my heart

 

[Dirty Fingers]

I try and make comparisons to what they are feeling with why they are feeling it or perhaps more precisely what that feeling means to them. For example, The blonde he had spent so much time trying to impress was finally on her knees in front of him. With one hand on her head he closed his eyes a moment, relishing the feel of her mouth around him. Imprinting the image of it into his memory.

Then of course it goes to... Ahhh...she looked so good with his cock in her mouth.mmmm oh... uhhhh... uhvitgvowejfpovwmrfpo I'm a big fan of the random letter thing when wanting to describe a very emotional orgasm, one that is usually a result of a lot of hard work. To me it expresses the mind of the character just going blank, that deep reddish black you might see when you have a hard orgasm. And the spaced out feeling afterwards.

So I try a mix of things, metaphors, emotions, thoughts, background history, odd words, sounds as the OP suggests. Whatever works to build the overall picture and mood.

 

[WaveVelour]

I tend to use both the sound like “argh” and a definitive phrase like “balled up her fists in frustration”. I actually like playing vocally expressive characters both in and out of smut. The sound-words can add to the rp along with the sound-effect words like heels clicking, metal scraping. It can make the whole thing feel a bit more like I’m watching a movie. In the past I’ve played characters with a lisp and a stutter, which again can cause words to sound different, much like a gag. Beyond a point, typing that can be annoying. It can also be off-putting to read it too much. So after just a line in a post in that way, I would just mention that she said with her lisp/stutter and trust my RP partner’s imagined voice for MC.

Yeah, I agree. Stuttering can be overwhelming when done frequently. It’s a good way to tell the character is confused, hesitant or concerned, but when overused, it can be frustration both to write and read. Playing a character who says the words with difficulty might be a challenge. There are so many ways you can use to narrate they’re a stutterer. Or maybe you can just play out the dialogues normal, and leave it to your partner’s imagination =)

"Bark." Is my absolute favorite word in the english language. It's a discription "he barked his order." it's a passionate cry. "She barked and panted for her master." it's a strong sound effect, and yes it's a vocalization "the dog barked." Honestly any woman who's willing to include barking in an rp even when pet play is not a thing has my heart

I use the phrase ‘bark’ too. Probably not as frequently though. Only when I have the top role, or sometimes while playing as a disobedient brat =) It’s a quick and effective way of describing your character’s mindset when they give an order. Like when a character gives a quick, clear and loud order. I dislike the word ‘purr’ though, don’t know why exactly. It’s not a mood killer, and some people use it often, but something about it makes me cringe.

I try and make comparisons to what they are feeling with why they are feeling it or perhaps more precisely what that feeling means to them. For example, The blonde he had spent so much time trying to impress was finally on her knees in front of him. With one hand on her head he closed his eyes a moment, relishing the feel of her mouth around him. Imprinting the image of it into his memory.

Then of course it goes to... Ahhh...she looked so good with his cock in her mouth.mmmm oh... uhhhh... uhvitgvowejfpovwmrfpo I'm a big fan of the random letter thing when wanting to describe a very emotional orgasm, one that is usually a result of a lot of hard work. To me it expresses the mind of the character just going blank, that deep reddish black you might see when you have a hard orgasm. And the spaced out feeling afterwards.

So I try a mix of things, metaphors, emotions, thoughts, background history, odd words, sounds as the OP suggests. Whatever works to build the overall picture and mood.

Oh, I haven’t seen that kind of random letter usage. I can see how it represents all the unintelligible moans and shrieks a character makes just before the climax. I usually describe eyes to detail an overwhelming sensation. If things are really tense, I try to write a silly expression for my character. What I hate the most is when the characters scream that they’re gonna come. I don’t get why would he/she announce it like that! I exclude the times when it means “I’m going to come (if you don’t stop soon)” or as a means of permission/warning. Another thing I don’t like is when a character gets close to an orgasm, but still forms these loong and literate sentences, even multiple of them in one go.

 

[Dirty Fingers]

Oh, I haven’t seen that kind of random letter usage. I can see how it represents all the unintelligible moans and shrieks a character makes just before the climax. I usually describe eyes to detail an overwhelming sensation. If things are really tense, I try to write a silly expression for my character. What I hate the most is when the characters scream that they’re gonna come. I don’t get why would he/she announce it like that! I exclude the times when it means “I’m going to come (if you don’t stop soon)” or as a means of permission/warning. Another thing I don’t like is when a character gets close to an orgasm, but still forms these loong and literate sentences, even multiple of them in one go.

Yeah that is why I kind of go with the random letters or if they do have to speak I kind... of... ya...kkn...ow...break.. it.... up... to... make...them....sound...dis....trac...ted...ahhhh....uhihljw;m

I guess a female might say something about her impending orgasm if she knows her orgasms are fickle so she might want her partner to keep it up, last longer, keep doing what they are doing? Not sure.

I don't get why they would chat a lot during it either. Maybe during some phases of the love making but not the "home stretch".

I'd prefer to delve into the thoughts more or why it's so important to the character to be doing this, asides the obvious. Use it more as a character development rather than writing oooh and ahhh.