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Friday, April 8, 2016

Book Review: Rayne Hall "Euphonics For Writers"

Euphonics For Writers: 

Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors

by Rayne Hall 

Review:

Ok, this book took me by surprise. I confess I had never heard about Euphonics, but since music plays a huge part in my writing I was curious how specific sounds could improve the message I wanted to deliver by touching the subconscious. 

Intriguing! 

(I wondered how many times this has been used in speech lol)
The first part is basically a Thesaurus explaining which letters create which feeling if used in a certain way. It was a continuous string of “AHA” experiences and I kept jogging down on index cards while playing and juggling with sounds. 
It was fun and I would recommend the book 
for this alone.

The second part left me a bit breathless 
as it involves more background, insights and generally needs more concentration. 
Here I kept reading out examples and rolled words and phrases over my tongue 
to understand what was going on. 
That took more time which partly may have to do with the fact that I’m bilingual 
and my mind tends to jumble a variety of meanings and syntax if puzzled. 
The Eureka-moment when understanding dawned was rewarding though, 
especially when I realized that gut feeling probably already had me use the techniques at times,
 while at other times the wish to find the best word or phrase took me away from the emotion 
I could have transmitted.
This book is a valuable tool for both new and “Ancient” writers as it forces you to read beyond and play with sounds, words and sentences 
in a new way – it’s like a puzzle to be solved 
and doesn’t give it’s secret right away ;)

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