Sigh, Deep Breath, or ''heehaa''?

[idamessygirl]

So, I have been having a little trouble with writing out sighing sounds, breathing sounds... etc.

You, as a reader, which one would you say is more comfortable/easy to read? (pleasing to the eyes..)

Words like: Sigh & Gasp?

Words saying the action: Deep breath & Shocked?

Or actually writing the sounds out (onomatopoeia): heeha, whohee, phwee... etc?

Tell me your opinion, please! ^-^

~Idamessygirl♥

[AliceHoffmannArt]

I'm in the "Sigh & Gasp" camp!

"heeha, whohee" and "phwee" work nicely for more comedic stuff in my opinion. They just sound somewhat funny when reading and look unusual in contrast to actual words.

[AnnaLandin]

I kind of prefer it to be sounds written out - and also communicated visually. If someone is sighing because they're tired, draw them in a pose that emphasises that - if it's because they're exasperated, lean into that with body language and expression.

(also, I tend to write sighs out as "haaaahh...." and gasps as "hah!"+shocked expression)

[Wishjacked]

I'd say it REALLY depends on the tone you're going for and the exact feeling you're attempting to reproduce in the story.

So, "sigh" and "gasp" are probably the most unobtrusive to readers… they're the ones that are the least noticeable when you're reading and the most easy to understand. They tend to be the best in average, every-day situations. However, both "sigh" and "gasp" have emotional connotations— a sighing character is usually sad or reflective, a gasping character is surprised.

For action description like "deep breath" or "exhale", you've got a little more leeway with emotional connotations, so they tend to be good for situations where "sigh" or "gasp" is too specific. A "deep breath" can mean the character is angry (and about to yell a lot), surprised, quietly reserved to events, scared. "Exhale" can likewise be paired with almost any emotion. (I wouldn't consider "shocked" to be an action description because that's an emotion, not a type of breathing)

And onomatopoeia is always fun! I'm with Anna, I tend to use "haaaaaah" as a sighing sound. I'm not sure if "phew" is onomatopoeia, but I use that one a lot, too! Onomatopoeia can be used for comedic effect (it tends to look the goofiest spelled out) and so it's often used for lighter and funnier scenes. But it can also be used for dramatic effect— especially repetitive sounds, like "huff huff huff" or… uh, I'm drawing a blank. But you get the idea! Sound affects tend to be the easiest of these to customize visually, too, with unusual fonts and colors etc, so they can also use that for emotional punch.

So basically what I'm saying here is… there's no wrong way to go about it?? I'm pretty sure I've used all of these in the same comic, haha. Just try to weigh what the emotions each word you choose is going to express (reading aloud is great for that) and decide which one works the best in the context of your scene.

[idamessygirl]

Ah!! I see! Really good advice, thank you so much!!!

[idamessygirl]

Ah, I agree with your opinion on the ''foos'' and ''phwees''.

[Rueleer]

I'm for changing it to suit the tone of the dialogue!

If you don't want people to dwell on it, try to use common verbs like 'sigh' 'gasp' 'grunt' 'swipe' etc. Personally, I tend to sweep over those words because they're familiar, and I just imagine a sound to replace it.

Using onomatopoeia has the opposite effect; because they tend to have weird spellings, people will digest them slower and notice them more.

So basically my advice is to match the length of the effect to the duration you think you want people to read it at? :'D If that's any help. X'D Good luck~

[punkarsenic]

it depends, i think.

commonly, in western comics (and maybe some manga translations?) they put a sigh or gasp in a smaller font, with little lines around it. that works well all around.

however, some familiar sound effects also work - phew, oww, eugh, ick. these can communicate more about the noise, which you might want to do. other, less familiar, sound effects typically dont work as well. but if you make it a lil smaller and put it in italics, the readerll get it.

ive seen 'deep breath' and 'shocked' in manga, and i like the effect, but unless youre going for that style its weird and i wouldnt go for it. and never like, in the bubble, itd always be stylized like a sound effect.

[joannekwan]

I mostly just use "sigh" and "gasp" where I write them out by hand as opposed to typing them.

Sometimes in a lighter or comedic scene I might use "huuuu" or "haa"

[Kamikaze]

It depends on the situation. If someone is exasperated or annoyed it's a >sigh< or >psh< or >snort<. But if it's more exaggerated, like say a steadying breath I tend to write it out using a bubble. "Phoooo" is one I tend to use a lot, and I make the bubble tail and the text wavy to give it a little extra punch. :3

[VikiKuli]

This is a really good topic! I haven't thought about it too much but it's actually a really good detail to think about! Thanks for OPENING MY MIND

[Pik]

I struggle with coming up with the right sound effects like this often!
Overdescribing actions in words kind of turns me off as a reader. Like when "turns" or "looks up" is used as a sound effect instead of actually showing the action. Though it would probably work well for comedic types of work or if you're going for a particularly weird style. And, well... "deep breath" in particular is really hard to come up with a written sound for. >_<

I usually use 'haa...' as a sigh. Oh, and as Kamikaze said, using the shape of the bubble (if there is one) to express the sound can help too. Or lines/breath bubbles to show the direction of breath moving.

[The_Book_Keeper]

The choice of words depends on the desired scene or environment you wish to convey to the reader in the given snippet. If you aim to use synonyms with similar sounds, select a word that is not only easy to read and follow but also complements the overall sentence structure.

[Wolsal]

Really depends, for my own comic (which is my only personal frame of reference) I’d use sigh or gasp. If it was a comedic approach though I may put the actual sound.
For writing a novel, as in like a book with no pictures, I like to say the action (sighed, gasped, etc). This is my personal taste and may very well differ between people. It’s a personal taste thing, and in my opinion, they all work! Some people may prefer some over others, the biggest thing to consider is what the tone is of what you’re writing.

[joannekwan]

[joannekwan]

[joannekwan]

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