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hybridlore posted an update 2 days, 2 hours ago
@whalekeeper I moved us here so we didn’t spam the topic anymore like you said 😂
That’s okay! I think I understand what you’re saying—I know exactly what you mean by the bright light leaving a splotch in your vision thing. So for the most part, it seems like you have association, but it slightly affects the way you actually see some characters…?
The numbers things is so interesting. Have you ever taken inspiration for characters from them? 😅 Does it make math more interesting, or does it just get in the way?
But there is one time when I involuntarily make the association – when someone speaks with strong vowel sounds, like a man with a very mature singing voice. It’s in some form of the color red/orange.
Weird! I’m trying to imagine what that would sound like. Yes, sound to color is so interesting. I will definitely look for some more articles! 😁
Wow! That is so interesting. Aww, yeah, that would make sense. I’ll have to think about how memories/experiences like that would affect Sara’s synesthesia. So it’s not the sound at all—just the placement on the keyboard? Do you play piano?
Awesome! Thanks. I was curious. I’m still sort of overwhelmed by all the possibilities, haha. When I try to describe all this in Sara’s POV, Jn literally just making descriptions of each word up, and I don’t want to end up with ones that are too similar/boring. Plus I’m trying to find a balance as to what words to describe in order to still give her POV the flavor of synesthesia, but not go overwhelmingly into detail about every word. Do you have any tips for that? So far I’ve just been focusing on words that stand out—maybe ones that have powerful meanings, are important to the sentence, or not used very often.
Okay yay 😂
Yep, I think so.
I don’t use them for inspiration, but while choosing names for characters, I need the right personality to hit. It is a great feeling to find the right name for somebody. Does it affect math? …Memorization is much easier. In that regard it doesn’t get in the way.
Yeah, it’s just the placement on the keyboard. It’s proof that your brain can make the strangest associations, which could totally affect Sara in a unique way. I do play piano, I took lessons from a young age.
Ooo, tips for using it in the story… either you can make it into the main topic of the book, or just a unique element of her POV (a stylistic part of her character). Either way, you have to remember synesthesia is an instinctive thing and a synesthete never takes strong notice of it unless they have a reason to. The colors are normal, never a surprise, unless it’s a new and particularly pretty word. So from Sara’s POV, make sure this stuff seamlessly flows through the rest of her observations. The most time I think about the colors is when I meet a new person, learn their name, and start thinking about them in a synesthete context.
Have you ever read A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass? It is about a synesthetic teenager named Mia, navigating high school. It was fun to read. One thing that bothered me, though, was how stressed Mia felt about her condition. She thought something was wrong with her and got overwhelmed a lot. While this can happen, I don’t like how synesthesia was depicted as a constant problem, when most synesthetes don’t have such strong reactions on an average day. At least for me, anxiety and other mental stressors are the source of heightened senses. I would have liked the author to either clarify how strong Mia’s condition was, or tone down the story. Other than that, it’s a fun book and I learned a few things.
Once again, hope this helps 🥰
Right, I gotcha. How did you pick some of your characters’ names? What made you realize, oh, that’s the right one?
Awesome! Yeah, that’s really interesting.
Rightt, I’m still trying to figure it out. It has to be in the POV enough, but also not in there too often… it’s a weird balance. I’ll probably stick to unusual words, some sound-to-color, and like new names, like you said. She is an author/journalist–she doesn’t really write fiction, but she loves to write articles and stuff like that, which is basically the opposite of me haha 😅. So I think she places a special value on words that are used and so maybe she would think about the meaning/association of them more often even if she already knows it…?
Do you draw conclusions about someone before knowing them based on the association of their name?
Yes, I have read it! (Book research, xD) Yeah, I know what you mean. I can understand her anxiety though, not knowing what synesthesia was and feeling like she was the only one. But yeah, that makes sense. Especially with that one scene–with the alarm clocks, she was having like a panic attack. Do you find it more difficult to function in loud or busy environments because of your synesthesia? Do you think someone with sound to color –even having it their whole life–would struggle with that a lot?
It has! Thank you so much for answering all my questions. You have been so helpful in this! 💕
I go through baby name lists as usual. I have a few letters in mind and/or a length, and swipe through until I find something. This search is very similar to how everyone else does it, there are just a few more criteria for the name to pass.
One of my favorite names ever ever ever is Marcel. The first syllable sounds solid, and the second has a melancholy lilt to it. It has a soft dove gray, and “a” is the only bright color, pink… which if you know my character, makes perfect sense. It’s sheer luck I even found his name in the first place. I was going to use a name like Richard or Howard. Now, if I used one of those two names, his design would have gradually changed to encompass their color makeup. The character would look much different. (There are still traces of those names on him.)
That sounds good! I can totally see that happening, there’s more to judge in word choice when you are writing an article.
Oh yeah, 100%. You’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, and I broke that rule long ago. XD
As someone who is easily overstimulated, yep. Not much, I think? It’s just one of many tiny things that can tick me off, specifically when I have to do math or writing in a rough environment. I never blame it and only it for those problems. However someone with sound-to-color might find it difficult, you’re right!
Honestly I do that with character names too. I try not to name characters even with placeholders until the last minute, because then the placeholder will get stuck as their actual name. Or they’ll still have remnants of that name affecting them or something.
Marcel is a much more unique name than Richard or Howard tbh, I like it way better.
@keilah-h Here ya go! 😁
thank you!!!
I hope this interrogation satisfies you 😄
haha I hope so too.