Sunday Writing Tip: Are You Using Enough Sensory Details in Your Descriptions?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Each week, I’ll offer a tip you can take and apply to your WIP to help improve it. They’ll be easy to do and shouldn’t take long, so they’ll be tips you can do without taking up your Sunday. Though I do reserve the right to offer a good tip now and then that will take longer—but only because it would apply to the entire manuscript.

This week, check how many senses you're using when you describe things in a scene.
It's easy to remember sight and sound, since characters look at and listen to the world around them. But what about smell? Touch? Taste? You can flesh out a setting by adding sensory details. While not every description will need to use all five senses, catching a whiff of a scent instead of seeing what's causing the smell can be more powerful. Smell also triggers memories, so it's a great tool for when a character needs to remember something.

Check out your scenes, especially any setting descriptions. Try to use each of the five senses at least once in your descriptions.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com