How To Say No?

Lafayette

Lafayette

Man of Artistic Fingers
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Jun 14, 2016
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Phoenix, Arizona
In my story one of my characters in an irritated mood says in sarcasm, "Nooo you're not here." He is suppose to be dragging out the word 'no'. My editor friend reads this as him saying 'new'.

Is she right? If so how do I write this so that my readers know that the character is dragging out the word in sarcasm?
 
I can't imagine how anyone would read that as "new". It's perfectly acceptable as a drawn-out no, as far as I'm concerned. It's certainly how everyone else does it, if they have occasion to.

Perhaps you could add an "Oh" in front of it, to make it clearer? But I don't see why you should have to.
 
Adding an oh at the end wouldn't help at all for me, TDZ.
I can't see any problem as it is.
New? The guy's a weirdew.
 
I think TDZ meant adding the "Oh" at the beginning, so it's "Oh noooo," though I'm not sure it would actually help if someone was reading it wrongly. Anyhow, it reads as "no" to me, too, in context but I can sympathise with someone reading it as akin to "Och aye, the noo" which, as we all know, Scots say all the time.

Even though I would read it as "no", I can't say I'm keen on seeing it other than in informal settings, as Alex notes, like here on Chrons or in emails/letters to friends. Finding it in a novel that is meant to be a comedy, particularly one set in the present day, would past muster for me, but in a serious novel, especially one based on an historical period, it would rather rub me up the wrong way.

I have done something similar in one of my SFs, with a child drawing out "hours" to emphasise how boring something was, but I actually wrote it as "hours" then added "She stretched the word out as she said it – oww-wwerrrs." as that was the best method of making it intelligible, so something of that kind might be a better way to proceed.
 
Jo Zebedee said:
How about the old fashioned fudge, 'No,' she said, drawing it out?
Click to expand...

That sort of thing just doesn't work for me. By the time I get to the part telling me it was drawn out, I've already read it normal. Do I then go back and read it the prescribed way? (Well, sometimes, yes. I do. But I hate that.) I'm reading my daughter some Moomintroll books, and the current one has been driving me crazy that way. "How can you possibly do that!" he whispered. Well, gee, thanks for telling me that, because I just read it as an exclamation and it's too late to whisper.

I can guarantee that I've written at least one something with a "Nooooo" in it, because that's how it was said. I don't see fiction writing as "formal". Dialogue is informal. It's how people talk. And yes, I do sometimes put in the "uhhh" as well.
 
TheDustyZebra said:
That sort of thing just doesn't work for me. By the time I get to the part telling me it was drawn out, I've already read it normal. Do I then go back and read it the prescribed way? (Well, sometimes, yes. I do. But I hate that.) I'm reading my daughter some Moomintroll books, and the current one has been driving me crazy that way. "How can you possibly do that!" he whispered. Well, gee, thanks for telling me that, because I just read it as an exclamation and it's too late to whisper.

I can guarantee that I've written at least one something with a "Nooooo" in it, because that's how it was said. I don't see fiction writing as "formal". Dialogue is informal. It's how people talk. And yes, I do sometimes put in the "uhhh" as well.
Click to expand...
Hee. I didn't say I liked it ;) :D
 
Seems like we're getting into the bizarre territory.

Too- is pronounce too (note there is an over-bar over the oo)
Zoo-is pronounce zoo

Noo-is pronounce noo? (Would seem sensible yet there is no noo.)

where knew is pronounce n(y)oo (arrrrrgh... why is(-y-) remove the hyphens even a smiley at all.
and new is pronounce n(y)oo
Noo is not pronounce n(y)oo(just wouldn't seem sensible at all.)

Perhaps for clarity::
No-oooo
No-ooo
or
No-oo

"Noooooooooooo..." It makes my head hurt.
 
tinkerdan said:
Seems like we're getting into the bizarre territory.

Too- is pronounce too (note there is an over-bar over the oo)
Zoo-is pronounce zoo

Noo-is pronounce noo? (Would seem sensible yet there is no noo.)

where knew is pronounce n(y)oo (arrrrrgh... why is(-y-) remove the hyphens even a smiley at all.
and new is pronounce n(y)oo
Noo is not pronounce n(y)oo(just wouldn't seem sensible at all.)

Perhaps for clarity::
No-oooo
No-ooo
or
No-oo

"Noooooooooooo..." It makes my head hurt.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry Tinkerdan. I didn't mean for your head to hurt.

I didn't think genius' had headaches.
 
Sometimes it isn't inability to understand. Sometimes it's the need to convey the impression of an inability to understand.
 
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