Auditory Learning

I’m an auditory learner, but I didn’t know that until I started writing fiction. Auditory learners comprise about 30% of the population. I had noticed that I related to the world a bit differently than most people. I knew that I—

·         remembered lyrics and music with ease

·         recognized voices better than faces. If I heard your voice, then I could recall you and knew instantly who I talked with on the phone

·         memorized phone numbers easily (867-5309 a number that also doubled as lyrics. Can you name that tune/band?)

·         spelled horribly because I spell phonetically, contradicting my mother’s edict that readers are good spellers (Which explains why I’ve been confused for years. She obviously was a visual learner.)

·         had a good vocabulary, but I couldn’t find the words in the dictionary (i.e., dearth)

·         always loved story circle during kindergarten

·         had no trouble learning foreign languages

·         forgave bad spellers, but if you sang off-key, I’d bite

·         had no understanding why microwaves or dryers need a bell signaling the cycle’s end when everyone can hear the motor shut off, a great annoyance

·         don’t have problems reading and answering questions about a passage, which contradicts what the auditory learning experts say I shouldn’t be able to do well. I’ve concluded that not all auditory learners are alike.

What does this mean for my writing?

The Good: I have no problem writing dialogue. In fact, when I write dialogue it is more as if I’m taking dictation than trying to create it. I can also hear the nuances in my characters’ voices, in their tone, sarcasm, cadence and emotions. Just like real people, once I hear their voice, I don’t forget them.

The Bad: I sometimes forget that my characters wear clothing, have facial features and hair color. I’m not an appearance person in real life so those things don’t have a lot of significance to me. Clothing doesn’t make the man. In fact, if you dress too well, I may discount you for it, and that wariness applies to women also. Unlike appearance, I’m physically oriented so my characters have motion and muscle. They think, speak and act, but I work on including my characters’ visual aspects because those characteristics interest me the least.

The Ugly: Spelling phonetically is problematic. Consider the word “definitely.” If you pronounce the word—def’ in-ite-ly—no problem. But often it is pronounced—def’-in-ate-ly or in the South—def’-un-unte-ly. I now memorize, not the spelling of words because it won’t stick that way, but I memorize the correct pronunciation of the word so that I can then spell it correctly. How’s that for convoluted? (I just spelled convoluted wrong because I pronounced it con-vel-uted.)

When I’m taking dictation from my head, I write what I am hearing, and that means if I don’t go over my manuscript carefully, my critique group members may read these sentences:

“Jenny whent to the freezer isle and selected a box of popcicles. The popcicle company’s advertizing-cartoon mascot, a polar bare whereing a grass skirt, adorned the boxes of frozen treets.”

Those sentences sound fine to me! Auditory learners don’t care much about homonyms or spelling because we are hearing the words, not seeing them. Of course, to communicate in the written word, I have a lot to rewrite. Writers who are auditory learners are storytellers in the literal sense of the word. Other writers may think we aren’t erudite, but what they don’t understand is that having an acute sense of hearing and relating to the world through sounds has its advantages too.

What has your writing taught you about yourself?