FictionAddiction.NET

The five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch - are vital to adding a completely new level to your writing. Your words will come alive and readers will be enthralled in the story you have to tell.

Sight: Look at any object where you're sitting now. Drop your adjectives and describe it fully. Don't say you have a large, square bookcase. Say it's made of oak that spans the length of a dining room table, filled with books the size of a shoe box.

Drop as many adjectives from your description as possible. Get to the bare bones of the object by using nouns.

If a character receives flowers, don't describe them as pretty. Tell us what makes the flowers pretty. "Pretty" is so vague.

Try, "Baby's breath danced around twelve pink rosebuds, bundled tighter than a newborn." Now that sounds pretty. And we have a clear visual of the flowers.

Sound: When trying to describe a scene, say a noisy bar, use words that really capture the essence of the atmosphere. "Drunk men clang hearty beer mugs together, short decibels away from shattering the glass. Meaningless chatter fills the room trying to drown out the barbaric beat of an untalented rock band. Sounding more like a bunch of teenagers practicing for the first time in an empty garage."

Using the flowers as an example once again, maybe the bouquet is wrapped. The cellophane crackled around the flowers. A single rosebud escaped and the petals separated from the tiny stem without a sound as the flower smashed upon the ground.

Be blunt with sound when you can. If someone keys a car, it sounds like fingernails going down a chalkboard. We're all familiar with that sound. If your character is getting the creeps from the sound, readers will definitely get the creeps with that description.

The conclusion of this series takes a look at the remaining three senses - smell, taste and touch. Using all of the senses, you'll create mesmerizing fiction that puts your reader in the heart of the story.

Smell: We often smell something that reminds us of a familiar place or even another person. Make a list of five smells that remind you of something else. For instance, fresh bread may remind you of the summer you spent with your Aunt Lillie. Newly cleaned laundry may remind you of the time in college when you spent every Saturday night at the laundrymat.

Jane climbed into the passenger seat. New car smell wafted throughout the vehicle. Memories of her 16th birthday came flooding back. Her own red convertible with a big white bow on top.

Just like with sound, sometimes you can be blunt with smell. Simply say a barn smells like manure. We all know what that smells like.

Taste: The easiest way for you to describe taste in your writing is to actually taste the item you're trying to describe. That's not to say you should eat mold so you'll have an accurate description. But really get inside your mind and imagine what it would taste like.

For practice, you can actually taste something that's edible. Let it sit in your mouth a minute before you chew or swallow it. How does the food feel on your tongue? Now, take a bite. Did it squirt or gush? Have fun with your description and really dig deep into your imagination.

If someone tastes blood, you can simply leave it at that. No need to go into elaborate detail about what blood tastes like. We all know the iron taste associated with blood.

Touch: Is a tennis ball just round? Of course not. It's fuzzy, firm and can even feel like a wet dog if you've been playing tennis in the rain! Get your hands on things, clocks, tires, trees, your cat, carpet. Describe textures and squeeze it if you can. Hit it with your hand (everything except the cat) and see how it makes your hand feel. Describe that as well.

Mark felt the scab on his arm. Rough. Uneven. Raw. The scraped skin had an edge slightly raised. He gently placed his fingers on the smooth side of his arm, sliding his fingernails into the unsightly blackish-brown skin cover. And yanked.

Using your senses in your writing helps enhance the overall story you're trying to convey. Explore your surroundings using your five senses and you'll open up a whole new world for your readers.

Apryl Duncan is the founder of FictionAddiction.NET. She's also an author, freelance writer and workshop instructor with more than 15 years experience writing professionally. Her work has been published worldwide and has been translated into nine different languages.