On Craft--Synesthesia

Synesthesia by PeaceMakerGirl

As a creative person Synesthesia is my absolute favorite thing ever. I knew I loved literature and writing when I first learned about metaphor and simile, but those joys felt like child's play when I first read The House on Mango Street and discovered the nirvana that is Synesthesia. It excited me no end to think a color could feel or a feeling could see or a scent could have a color. The possibilities seemed endless and Synesthesia struck me as a device that should be used all the time. But this is how all creatives feel when they discover a new literary toy. Of course, all things are better in moderation, but Synesthesia did reveal to me how much richer writing could be, how much more nuanced descriptions could be, how much more imaginative and vividly spectacular the worlds that writers created could be.

Synesthesia became a clear way to make one's writing special and memorable and a tool of craft I find now in my professional life that is too often completely overlooked and/or underutilized by beginning writers and even veteran writers.

For some writers, the use of a device like Synesthesia is instinctive, so much so that they may not even realize what they're doing has a name. These are the writers that most often break through, especially if they're writing literary fiction. They have that innate ability. And while I do believe a lot about writing is innate,  I do also think a lot can be learned. Many of the manuscripts I get on submission and pass on, I pass on for one simple reason: the writing doesn't strike me as very special. And to overcome writing that isn't particularly special, the story would have to be amazingly well-executed--fast paced with edge of your seat thrills and chills. More often than not, however, the story cannot overwhelm writing that is just average, not in today's very crowded market. The two have to work together. There are submissions I pass on where the story has lots of potential and if the writing had been special, I might have pursued for publication. But if the writing is special enough even if the story needs work, I find I will always want to pursue because special writing just doesn't come along every day. Finding writing that stands out, that moves you as a reader just isn't easy. But the use of a simple device like Synesthesia, used with just the right touch, is something that can make a difference, bring spark to otherwise very straight forward writing, and allow a narrative to stand out.

So here are three definitions of Synesthesia from the Free Dictionary:

 syn·es·the·sia also syn·aes·the·sia  (sns-thzh)

n.

1. A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

2. A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.

3. The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

(You can also check out more on Synesthesia at Wikepedia here.) 

For the purposes of this blog, we're using the third definition: the description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another. In layman's terms, as I alluded to above, this basically means one sense being able to respond in a way typically reserved by another sense. The House on Mango Street is a perfect book to show this literary device in action and consequently when you Google Synesthesia and/or The House on Mango Street, you'll inevitably stumble upon one or the other. If you haven't yet read Sandra Cisnero's astounding narrative, I suggest you do. It's an extraordinarily well-executed novel and can be used for craft studies on the most effective execution of many literary devices you haven't thought of since the seventh grade aside from Synesthesia like Anaphora, Symbolism, Idiom and more. And these aren't just lessons for kids or writers starting out. These are wonderful reminders even if you've been at this for awhile. When editing, I often return to the classics to find ways to help and inspire my writers trying to reinvent the wheel in a way that is dynamic and distinct. Synesthesia is my favorite thing because it helps keep one's writing fresh and a joy to read, and also positions a book to become a classic in its own right. But as a first step, Synesthesia is a great way to effectively implement the writers' first credo, "Show Don't Tell." So if you're looking for a way to enhance your writing and make it special, investigate Synesthesia and allow your sounds to see and your colors to hear or feel. I bet you'll have fun. 

I'll leave you with three examples of Synesthesia that I like:

“Yellow cocktail music.” (The Great Gatsby)

“It's like all of a sudden he let go a million moths all over the dusty furniture and swan-neck shadows in our bones” to describe the sound of an old music box. (The House on Mango Street)

Dante is driven “back to the region where the sun is silent.” (The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, in the first canto of “Inferno”)