Dictionary of non-words

[TitaniumTi]

Something has happened to my protagonist -- a small hurt and big indignity for a comical character. I'm wondering how to express his response:

He yelped,
"Ouch",
or
Oww...

or something else entirely.

I have two issues here. I'm never sure how many non-words I can sprinkle through my stories without over-using them, but I think "oww", "ahh" etc show, while "he yelped", and "she sighed" tend towards telling.

The second issue is that I'm never certain that readers will hear the non-words as I hear them.
Should I write "oow", "ooww" or "oww"? Should I write "aah", or "ahh"?

Can anybody help me out with a list of non-words and what they mean?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Subtract Oxford Dictionary from Scrabble Dictionary.
If I've seen it in a published book AND I think it looks right then I ignore the spelling checker.

I bet someone has a list of US and UK publisher approved ejaculations interjections.


Chambers Family Scrabble Dictionary has Oops, Ouch and Ow (with meanings you want)

 

[tinkerdan]

Some of this is covered under Onomatopoeia.

http://www.writtensound.com/index.php?term=ow

Interjections
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/interjections.shtml

 

[TitaniumTi]

Chambers Family Scrabble Dictionary has Oops, Ouch and Ow (with meanings you want)

Thanks. It seems that "ow" is correct. Both my spelling suggestions were wrong.

Some of this is covered under Onomatopoeia.

http://www.writtensound.com/index.php?term=ow

Interjections
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/interjections.shtml

Those sites are very useful. I've bookmarked them both.

I went to the Oxford dictionary website, which (hiding my head in shame) I've never visited before.

I also googled.

I bet someone has a list of US and UK publisher approved ejaculations interjections.

My first search did list some interesting sites!

I found some other sites. I've taken a screenshot of Table 1 in this thesis, as a handy reference. This site has a longer list, with some definitions.

 

[PartialMitch]

Should I write "oow", "ooww" or "oww"? Should I write "aah", or "ahh"?

IMHO, write what you want. Make up words if you have to. Grammar is a tool, not a cage, and new words have to come from somewhere, right? Why not you?

Especially for dialogue. "Aah" or "Ahh" or "Aaaaaaah!" may be appropriate, depending on your style and goals. "Ow," may be the standard, but sometimes a person smashes her funny bone on a door frame and exclaims, "Oooow!" There's a difference, and it matters.

One of my characters has a rather unique lingo (mostly due to the fact that he's a giant rock man), and spellcheck hates him with a passion. My response: Shut up, spellcheck; you're not the boss of me!

I could list authors that use unconventional spelling, phonetic spelling or simply invent words at will ... but the list would be very, very long and I'm sure you have better things to do with your time. The content of the story and how it grabs the audience is what matters; that's what will sell your story. You are the creator, don't fear being creative.