Bedwir had given him a light, and he knew the way now. He descended to the tunnel, passed the cell where Kensa had been imprisoned, and then stopped cold, halting the others.

The hallway was moving ahead—writhing just beyond the reaches of the light and his vision. He squinted. It couldn’t be. And yet he knew the truth. Something crawled on the walls. In and out of the cracks. He stepped forward and held up the light.

Roaches.

Thousands and thousands of them.

Troslam had just turned the boat down the left fork, heading south, when a rib-cracking pressure hit the right side of his back. Stabbing pain shot through his body and down his right arm. He lost control of his grip and the oar dropped away. He fell over, the world spinning white and hot. The very life-breath was yanked from his screaming lungs like an unraveled cord.

The mystical device suddenly let out a peeling scream, rending the air around them like a knife. Chiros dropped it to the snow, his hands flying to his ears, the high pitched wailing seeming to bore through his eardrums straight into his brain.

I don't usually write the sound itself, but the effect of the sound on the subject. For example:



You know how you would react to a sound, such as gooseflesh crawling up your arms, or your hair standing on end in suspense, so that is how I would write them. Put your reader into the character, and describe how the noise effects them. That's how I do it, anyway.

That's a very vivid description, Aussie, and sound advice.

That's a very vivid description, Aussie, and sound advice.

That's also how I do it, though I might make rare exceptions depending on the tone of what I'm writing.

Crack.

It came again. Terrien looked up once more from his book and scanned the brush in front of him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Crack

It was getting louder. Terrien closed his book and stood cautiously, the hair standing up on the back of his neck.

I agree. I've never had a problem with it. In fact, when I write or read something like this, it can often add an interesting effect:



Not a very good example of what I generally use. I try to avoid it, but sometimes it can add a nice effect. When I'm trying to convey a certain 'feel' that otherwise be lost. It's an artistic thing that should be used sparingly, but when done well can be very effective.

Suddenly the duck landed on the sponge and rolled off onto the floor.

Splurch, crik, splund.

"And then I tripped! Ouch! And then I fell! I fell and fell and fell. And then I ran into a tree! Crack! That was my head and the branch I ran into. But it didn't stop me. No I kept on falling down the hill. I hit a log that was floating on the river, and fell of it it too! Right into a pile of branches! Boombachowhow! Then I fell into the water. And I got wet."

Now some really good writer is going to use Boombachowhow in his book, and we will all admit that it was well put. You never can tell with writers.

"And then I tripped! Ouch! And then I fell! I fell and fell and fell. And then I ran into a tree! Crack! That was my head and the branch I ran into. But it didn't stop me. No I kept on falling down the hill. I hit a log that was floating on the river, and fell of it it too! Right into a pile of branches! Boombachowhow! Then I fell into the water. And I got wet."

But I don't think it is possible for us to exactly replicate certain kinds of coolness that exist in movies (just like movies can't exactly replicate various other kinds of coolness us writers have a monopoly on).

Unfortunately, that's true.
I've been wondering, is it possible to replicate the epic "super macho tough guy hero suddenly finds himself in so much physical pain that he can't help but groan" effect? That always has a strong effect on me; is it possible to create the same effect in books?

That falls into a "silent and very subtle awesome acting things that make movies epic that can be replicated in books" category. Which needs a thread, I believe. Would you mind starting one?

Well, not really, but what should I call it?

Try "Subtle Movieness in Books."

It is incredibly interesting the different dynamics movies/books have. Movies make use of mood through music, while books are dependent on mood through words and word pictures. Books are full of little funny plays on words and little wisdoms and things, while movies are pretty limited to just the story.

Very interesting.

And all the movie-watchers go crazy about the coolness of it, and all the girls who are susceptible to such things are suddenly crush-ified.