Hatrack River Writers Workshop   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Writers Workshop » Forums » Open Discussions About Writing » Sound description

   
Author Topic: Sound description
Silver3
Member
Member # 2174

 - posted      Profile for Silver3   Email Silver3         Edit/Delete Post 
I have the word on the tip of my tongue, and I can't get it on the page...
Does anyone know how to describe the sound bones make as they hit each other? (I mean, hypothetically, of course bones don't hit each other when a human body moves.)

Posts: 1075 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Beth
Member
Member # 2192

 - posted      Profile for Beth   Email Beth         Edit/Delete Post 
rattling? grating? probably depends on the bones and whether they're still inside a living body or not.
Posts: 1750 | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Silver3
Member
Member # 2174

 - posted      Profile for Silver3   Email Silver3         Edit/Delete Post 
Hum...Dead person, skin more or less falling to pieces (think zombie in a very bad state).
Posts: 1075 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
cvgurau
Member
Member # 1345

 - posted      Profile for cvgurau   Email cvgurau         Edit/Delete Post 
clicking? clacking? clattering?

Those are the words that come immediately to mind, except "rattling", which beth already mentioned. But then, I'm thinking skeleton, not zombies.

[This message has been edited by cvgurau (edited October 10, 2006).]


Posts: 552 | Registered: Jan 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Jeraliey
Member
Member # 2147

 - posted      Profile for Jeraliey   Email Jeraliey         Edit/Delete Post 
My cadaver creaks a little, but doesn't make that much noise when we move him, in general.

(I'm a med student, for anyone who doesn't know me and might have been freaked out by that comment....)


Posts: 1041 | Registered: Aug 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Silver3
Member
Member # 2174

 - posted      Profile for Silver3   Email Silver3         Edit/Delete Post 
ok, I'll go for "creak"
(I have to admit I had a moment of doubt when I saw "my cadaver", but then I remembered )
Thanks!

Posts: 1075 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
LPMcGill
Member
Member # 3923

 - posted      Profile for LPMcGill   Email LPMcGill         Edit/Delete Post 
My cadaver rattles. But he's mummified. And is required to kill once every 300 years to take revenge on humanity for disturbing his grave. Otherwise he's a nice guy. Half the things that come out of his mouth are "Yo' Mamma" jokes, though. It can get very irritating. Sometimes I wonder why I keep him around.
Posts: 29 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Beth
Member
Member # 2192

 - posted      Profile for Beth   Email Beth         Edit/Delete Post 
My cadaver is almost silent. sometimes there is a soft squishing sound when it runs into a wall or something. but it is quiet and sneaky.
Posts: 1750 | Registered: Oct 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Survivor
Member
Member # 213

 - posted      Profile for Survivor   Email Survivor         Edit/Delete Post 
In the situation described, the bones would probably be a bit too slimey and soft to make much noise unless they get crunched. And because of decay and whatnot, the crunch would be a lot quieter than the crack of living bones getting broken.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
kings_falcon
Member
Member # 3261

 - posted      Profile for kings_falcon   Email kings_falcon         Edit/Delete Post 
crunch or crack for dried bones. For wet part fleshy ones I would think something alone the lines of "thwunk" or a wet slap (like a side of beef hitting the counter top).
Posts: 1210 | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
oliverhouse
Member
Member # 3432

 - posted      Profile for oliverhouse   Email oliverhouse         Edit/Delete Post 
I keep expecting someone to say "grind", because that's how some real people I know -- not dead ones, either! -- describe the way their own bones sound to them because of arthritis, etc. Since no one has said it, though, here I am...
Posts: 671 | Registered: May 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
CoriSCapnSkip
Member
Member # 3228

 - posted      Profile for CoriSCapnSkip           Edit/Delete Post 
Grating creak.
Posts: 283 | Registered: Feb 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Inkwell
Member
Member # 1944

 - posted      Profile for Inkwell   Email Inkwell         Edit/Delete Post 
If you're speaking in terms of, say, the spherical head of a femur and its accompanying pelvic socket 'hitting' each other...I would definitely go with 'grinding' or 'grating.' If you're talking about a neanderthal whacking two bleached femurs together to emphasize a gutteral point, 'crack,' 'snap,' 'pop,' and 'thwack' come to mind. Kinda like "...Uru brought the skeletal drumsticks together with a sickening crack." IMHO, I think italics emphasize the fact that the word is an audible sound nicely.


Inkwell
-----------------
"The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp."
-Anonymous


Posts: 366 | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
franc li
Member
Member # 3850

 - posted      Profile for franc li   Email franc li         Edit/Delete Post 
Even live bones can crunch, like when you shut a finger in a door or have a freak rib-breaking accident. It was similar to the sound of the collision of two VWs. I'm not sure if it was important that they were VWs. Aren't VWs somewhat better engineered?
Posts: 366 | Registered: Sep 2006  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2