The senses are a doorway into creativity. Everything we perceive is through the five senses. We constantly float in a sea of sensations. We feel. We taste. We see and envision. We are transported in time by smells. Sounds surround us, and we are part of the soundscape.
When we fully engage our senses, we can turn ordinary writing into
vibrant, explosive prose. How do we arouse our senses? By becoming more aware.
By observing deeply. By allowing sensations to infuse our entire body. We can
even extend our sensory awareness beyond our physical boundaries.
Engaging your senses makes the writing process more juicy, visceral,
and pleasurable and allows readers to connect more directly to your work. Use
all of your senses to build rich sensory landscapes. Think in terms of what
readers might feel, see, hear, taste, and smell, and how these senses combine
into a complex amalgamation of experiences. Even mundane events can reverberate
with profound kinesthetic and emotional impact.
Have you ever touched the delicate fluff of a dandelion or beheld the
dusty ring of the Milky Way on a clear night? Have you ever plucked a mulberry from
a tree, expectantly and perhaps too early, and tasted a burst of sourness with
the promise of sweetness to come? Have you breathed in the rich, earthy smells
of fallen leaves in autumn? Take the time to experience everything at a deep
sensual level and draw on these experiences to create a sensory extravaganza
for readers.
Connecting with
Sensory Dimensions Each sense has fascinating dimensions and facets to explore. As our
most dominant sense, seeing is perhaps the richest as well as the most
unreliable sense. We notice shapes, colors, light and darkness, textures,
patterns, and movement. We also perceive unspoken or hidden qualities in people
and situations by reading facial expressions and gathering nonverbal
impressions. But we also have blind spots and faulty vision. We can learn to
see things more accurately or in new ways by sharpening our focus or perhaps
softening our gaze to visually connect otherwise unrelated things.
Touch, our second set of eyes and ears through which we experience the
world, involves textures, motion, pressure, pleasure, and pain. Though we can
become numb to some touch experiences, we cannot completely shut off tactile
sensations and visceral responses. These reactions are some of our most
profound sensory experiences. Sense of touch also extends to our emotions,
which bubble and burn within us.
Our sense of hearing is constantly on, though we are often adept at
filtering out unwanted noise and distractions. Hearing involves vibrations,
percussions, discord, music and harmony, speech, movement, and volume. Taste is
a mixture of flavors, textures, mouthfeel, and accompanying smells and ambiance
that add to our gustatory experience. Smell, though perhaps an overlooked
sense, offers a direct connection to memory, pleasure, and repulsion. Smells can
orient us, warn us, delight us. Finally, we experience all of our senses in
rich combinations. The five senses intermingle in a mystical alchemy that
triggers thoughts and emotions.
Building a
Sensory Vocabulary
Sensory words are part of our vibrant, descriptive language: scrumptious, velvety, shrill, quench, bitter, frothy, luminous, careening, abrasive, ablaze. Our speech pops with onomatopoeic sounds such as crackle, buzz, and clang. For powerful writing, you can build a complete sensory vocabulary to bring immediacy, drama, and mood to your work, whether it's a physical description of a scene or character or a line of poetry. Of course, don't overdo sensory words. Use them sparingly and with finesse so that the most electrifying words stand out.
Sensory words can broaden your viewpoint and inspire you to reach new heights of expression. Grounding yourself in the senses and selecting those words that have the most punch, color, aroma, and flavor will bring depth to your writing, and open new doors to creativity.
Linda Hart is the author of Thesaurus of the Senses, a tool for writers, poets, teachers, students, and word lovers, available in paperback, Kindle ebook, and hardback on Amazon. She is the coauthor of Cat Grammar Guide.