The Sound of Silence

Funny how certain sounds trigger immediate responses. A siren in the night. The sound of rain on the roof. The wind howling through the trees. A baby crying. A woman sobbing. A child laughing. A man singing.

I occurred to me today that I don't describe sounds in my writing. Oh, the obvious ones maybe, but the extra little sounds that surround us... I don't mention them.

As I sit here at my desk, it's quiet. The house hunk has gone to bed. Yet, I can hear the hum of the computer. The tinkle of the tabletop fountain competes with the harsh rasp of the cat bathing herself. Outside the windchimes are clanging in the wind. In the kitchen the coffee maker is burbling. Overhead, my neighbors are moving around in their apartment.

Even in this quiet midnight hour, there are a host of noises all around me. Adding one or two of them to a scene would alter a picture that otherwise truly is silent. True silence is something that most of us never experience fortunately. In the rare moments when we have a hearing loss because of a medical problem we find it disorienting. So it is in my writing. That vacuum of sound that I fail to fill leaves me uncomfortable, not quite able to put my finger on the reason, but uneasy anyway.

So I must write with my five senses. Everyday I learn something new about writing. Today I learned that I need to add sound to my "movie". For without a sound track, all I have is a silent picture.

Anny

What could you spend an eternity doing? What is your passion? Your hunger? Your deepest desire? Each day beginning February 5 and running through February 14 one of the ten authors will complete the line, "My darling I could spend eternity…" on either their blog or website. Collect all ten answers and e-mail them to anny@annycook.com with Eternally Yours in the subject line to win some hot, romantic books. There will be three lucky Valentine winners.

The prizes –1st prize--5 books

2nd prize--3 books

3rd prize--2 books
Entries must be in by February 16 at midnight EST. All books and prize winners will be drawn randomly.

Sandra Cox Silverhills
Mona Risk To Love a Hero
Brynn Paulin Tribute For the Goddess
Bronwyn Green Mystic Circle
Cindy Spencer Pape Stone and Earth
N.J. Walters Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke
Elyssa Edwards Mating Stone
Amarinda Jones Shades of Gray
Kelly Kirch Time for Love
Anny Cook Honeysuckle

Drop by Kelly's Blog for the next episode of the Saga and take a squizz at her lovely new cover for Time For Love. www.kkirch.blogspot.com Then pop over to Amarinda's Place where she's pontificating on why wearing thongs isn't particularly sexy in Australia. www.amarindajones.blogspot.com Blessings on your day!