Cody Klippenstein #003: Connotation and cacophony!

          Yesterday, we saw simplicity, softness, and single-syllable words in a romantic passage in Klippenstein’s “Case Studies in Ascension.” Today, we’re going to see the tougher side of this young, talented writer.

            While she may have used short, soft words to describe a loving moment, look what she does as we near the END of her story, and the action is at a climactic moment:

“I heard a crash,” he says, breathless.

The big sixteen-pane window is swinging violently on its hinge, smashing against the wall, echoes of glass breaking over and over again. I shuck the rocks from my feet and hurry toward the window, bracing myself against the sill. High above the house, a dark figure drifting, getting smaller.

          What creates voice here?

1. Connotation. Words like “crash,” “violently,” “smashing,” “glass breaking,” “shuck,” “bracing,” and “dark figure” create some shocking imagery.

2. Cacophony. Cacophony is the repetition of hard sounds in words, sounds like b, d, g (as in “good,” not “George”), k, p, and t. Now look at that passage again, this time, with the hard sounds highlighted:

“I heard a crash,” he says, breathless.

The big sixteen-pane window is swinging violently on its hinge, smashing against the wall, echoes of glass breaking over and over again. I shuck the rocks from my feet and hurry toward the window, bracing myself against the sill. High above the house, a dark figure drifting, getting smaller.

          Soft, when she needs soft. Hard, when she needs hard. Klippenstein is not a writer who has a certain “style” she conforms to; she uses the right tool for the right job—and  she’s quite the handywoman! It’s why you’ll find the voice so strong in many of her writings.

Try this:

          After a peaceful vacation, you return home to discover your house has been broken into, items have been stolen, and rooms have been ravaged, some completely destroyed. Describe the scene.

Coming tomorrow: Day #004 of Cody Klippenstein: The use of long sentences for description!