Sunday, November 19, 2006
Writing lessons from an autistic child
My seven-year-old daughter is autistic. Her condition has really made me change the way I think, and change the way that I perceive things. That includes sounds. You see, my daughter is quite enamoured with onomatopoeia. She comes up with words to describe various sounds, words that on the surface seem quite nonsensical but which make a lot of sense when you take a moment to think about them. Two of her favourite bits of onomatopoeia are dup (the sound a vinyl ball makes when it bounces) and diddle diddle little lamb (the sound that's made when a lid is spun on the floor).
But what does this have to do with writing? A description of a sound can add a lot to a piece of fiction or creative non-fiction. I've been revisiting some personal essays that I've had in my "do" pile for a while. A couple of them try to evoke a place via sound. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Thanks to my daughter's inadvertent help, I've been making these aural allusions a lot stronger.
But what does this have to do with writing? A description of a sound can add a lot to a piece of fiction or creative non-fiction. I've been revisiting some personal essays that I've had in my "do" pile for a while. A couple of them try to evoke a place via sound. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Thanks to my daughter's inadvertent help, I've been making these aural allusions a lot stronger.
