C: Caterwaul, Cacaphony, and Castor Beans

C - Imagine this cat emitting a high pitched howling shriek outside your window at night- that's a caterwaul or wail.


Or during the day, you sit at your desk about to write a genius line, and mockingbirds out on the back fence are chastizing a squirrel. Natter, natter, natter - it's a cacophony of sound.


I'm guilty of writing scenes lacking noise. Life contains a background din, if you think about it. Clock ticks, dryer or washer churns, electronic devices hum. Car engines rev or a fire siren in
the distance. Characters aren't in a bubble, and need some distractions sometimes. Blast 'em at a crucial moment with a cry, a clank, or a clink.


And part of my alphabet of Death -from Deadly Doses by Serita Deborah Stevens w/Anne Klarner:
Swallowing six to eight castor beans (product of the castor oil plant from Africa) can induce a cough, convulsions, and coma. Extremely fatal after a week or quicker if chewed. Sounds like a noisy death to me, if you are contemplating a murder mystery.