Writing Tip: Using Your Senses
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- 12/1/2009 |
- 10:00 am
How many times have you read a story that really made you feel as if you were right there? It's easier to write a compelling story like that when you use all of your senses. Here's how...
I remember reading a particularly frightening story when I was a kid. It kept me awake late at night for weeks afterward. When I went back and read it a few years later, I realized why the tale was so powerful.
The author had not only described the scenes in the book visually, she had also brought to life many of my other senses. She described how the room smelled, how the sounds came from several directions at once. She even gave me goosebumps by describing the texture of the bedsheets, and how they filled with damp sweat. It was powerful stuff.
When you're creating your stories, remember that your readers have all of their senses available to them. Don't just describe how something looks; go beyond that, and tell them how it sounds, how it smells, what it feels like.
In one of my teen writing workshops, a young lady mesmerized us all by describing a scene in a dark, dingy basement. She let us feel the dampness of the room, allowed us to smell the dirt floor, and even added a breeze blowing through the characters hair. That's fantastic!
There are so many ways to paint a picture in the minds of your readers, and using all of the senses available to you will make it that much more impressive. Have fun!
