General writing tips

This blog is about how to use the five senses to improve your writing.

Our five senses surround us for every minute of every day, yet we tend to take them for granted, often failing to notice the little things.

Like a drop of rain sliding down a bright green leaf.

Or the relentless noise of city traffic.

Or the fragrant smell of a rose in your front garden.

In our time-pressed lives, we often get too busy to notice or even care.

But noticing those little sensory details and incorporating them in your novel can really help to enrich your writing, making it more interesting for others to read.

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls this adventure Science.

– Edward Powell

Let’s look at some examples of this. Consider this passage:

She reached her chosen street and looked briefly at the map in her hands.

Now let’s add the sense of sight and touch to it:

She reached her chosen street, where drab grey buildings complimented the gloomy, windy weather, and looked briefly at the map in her hands.

Sound

Come up with fresh and inventive ways to describe certain sounds.

Does a cat ‘meow’? Or does it ‘yeow’? Or ‘greeow’?

Don’t be afraid to add silences and pauses when necessary, as these can lend atmosphere and dramatic tension to any piece of fiction writing.

Let’s take a look at the following passage:

“You’ve given us almost nothing to work on,” he said. “We needed important facts in this matter, such as names. More specific locations. Motives. You’ve failed, and I’m afraid the penalty for that is execution. Do you understand what I’ve just said?”

Now let’s change it slightly:

“You’ve given us almost nothing to work on,” he said. “We needed important facts in this matter, such as names. More specific locations. Motives. You’ve failed, and I’m afraid the penalty for that is execution.” He paused meaningfully. “Do you understand what I’ve just said?”

Adding a pause to the text has made it stronger and more interesting.

WEIRD WORD OF THE DAY: COPROLALOMANIAC. Meaning a person preoccupied with swearing.

Add the sense of taste

Two people are sitting together in a restaurant in a scene from the following passage:

Angela began to eat. She was hungry and the food tasted really nice. She felt a bit guilty, as she was just about to tell Tom she was leaving him for good.

Now let’s add the sense of taste:

Angela began to eat. She was hungry and the juicy, medium-rare steak topped with a thick rich gravy tasted really nice. She felt a bit guilty, as she was just about to tell Tom she was leaving him for good.

Touch

The sense of touch is important to any story, as we humans naturally tend to be a ‘touchy’ lot.

We shake hands.

We clap someone on the shoulder.

We hug. We slap. We kiss.

We touch our faces and stroke our chins.

Remember that skin can vary in texture as well. It can be rough or soft or moist and clammy, and everything in between.

Start paying attention to how different surfaces feel underneath your skin and think about how you would describe them.

Let’s take this passage:

He squeezed her shoulder and walked off to mingle at the party.

And add the sense of touch:

He squeezed her shoulder firmly, and his fingers felt dry and cold on her bare skin. She shivered slightly as he walked off to mingle at the party.

Smells

Add the sense of smell to your writing. For example, you can describe the musty smell of an old building or the sweet smell of an apple pie.

Do certain smells take your character back to childhood?

Do they evoke certain emotions, good or bad?

How would you describe different smells?

Points to remember

• Use the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell regularly in your novel to give it more colour and depth.
• Continually look for fresh and different ways to describe how things look, sound, smell, feel, and taste.
• The senses of sight and sound will most likely feature heavily in your novel. Don’t forget to include the other senses of touch, taste and smell too.

YOU SHOULD READ BEFORE YOU DIE: The Alchemist by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. A novel about an Andalusian shepherd boy from Spain named Santiago who travels to the Egyptian desert to find a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way, he encounters various people who impart their guidance and wisdom. He learns about listening to the voice of his heart, following his dreams, and recognising the omens that the universe brings to him. His journey is an inspirational story about fulfilling one’s dreams and finding meaning in the journey.

Try this out

Keep a notebook with you at all times and regularly practice describing what your senses are experiencing.

This is great for improving both your writing and your description skills, even if you only do this for five minutes a day.

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