Visionary Writing Techniques #003
by John Onorato
Want to write words which are memorable?
Then alliteration and assonance are your friends.
I’m sure you want examples. Those first two sentences represent alliteration. The word refers to the repetition of the first consonants in nearby words.
An aside from the Department of Just-In-Case: We all remember what vowels are: A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. Consonants are every other letter in the alphabet: B, C, D, F, G, and so on.
Tongue twisters also show us alliteration: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.”
If you can say that ten times fast, you’ll be a master of alliteration! And you’ll be way further along than I: That was even hard for me to type in one go.
Assonance is a similar and related concept. It refers to the repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.
Dr Seuss was a master of assonance:
“Today you are you
and that is truer than true.
There is no one alive
who is youer than you.”
Alliteration and assonance can lend a lyrical, sing-song quality to your writing. When used consciously, they can set or change the mood in a written piece.
They also allow the writer to highlight particular connotations of words.
Well, that’s great! But what are connotations? The second edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains over 171,000 unique words. Each of these words has a denotation — the literal, or primary meaning. Also known as the dictionary definition.
Many words in the English language have connotations as well. The word “connotation” refers to the feelings and ideas that word suggests.
For instance, take the word DISCIPLINE. Per Google, its second definition is “a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.” Yet in certain circles, many of them quite common, the word “discipline” carries with it the ideas of repression and punishment.
The takeaway here, therefore, is to be careful when and where you use certain words. A long time ago, in a high school essay, I used the word “ilk” to describe a group of people. My English teacher called me out, saying the word carried with it connotations of a dismissive or disparaging manner. Given the the essay as a whole, where I was speaking favorably about these people, “ilk” wasn’t a great fit.
According to its dictionary definition, I could have used “crony” just as well. Once again, though, this word has certain negative connotations. Taken literally, a “crony” is simply a sidekick or pal. But the connotations of the word suggest you and your pal are up to no good together. It also suggests “cronyism,” or the practice of unfairly giving friends promotions they’re not qualified for.
So that’s a lot right there. We started by talking about the sounds of words, and ended up with the meanings of those words. Given how many words there are in English, there are literally quadrillions of combinations those words can be in. Thus it’s crucial to understand how these words work together so you can use them to their maximum benefit.
