Creative Writing Exercises For Dummies

Chapter 11

Appreciating the Power of the Senses

In This Chapter

Controlling colour

Simulating sounds

Evoking smells

Toying with readers’ taste buds

In order to produce successful descriptions in your writing, you need to use all the senses to convey a convincing reality. Too many writers fall into the trap of writing visual descriptions while neglecting the information that comes to people through other senses. Yet sounds, smells, textures and tastes have just as strong an effect on readers and help them to imagine themselves in the scene that you’re depicting.

Whenever you describe a scene in a story, avoid making it too static and too detailed. Readers aren’t usually interested in long passages of description in which nothing happens. The trick is to weave description into action and highlight a few of the most vivid details, using them to imply the rest.

In this chapter I explore the different ways of using sensory information to make the world of your story more vibrant.

Creating a Colourful, Meaningful World

One of the most powerful descriptive tools you have is colour. Everyone ...