Can you smell the pie pictured here? If you use your creative mind, you can describe it so others might know exactly how it smells. Is it spicy? Or sweet? Or does a tartness pervade the air? Does it invade your entire being? Make your nose twitch?
A good exercise is to make a list of the five senses, then write descriptive words or phrases for each one. The more often you do an exercise like this, the better your sensory detail will be in your stories and poems. Doing the exercise more than once brings an awareness to your subconscious mind that will serve you well down the line.
There is an example for each group below to get you started.Add to these and then continue each list with your own words for each of the five senses. Do as many as you can and then do them again next week.
Our Five Senses
1. Smell
a. a building on fire--smoky, charred wood
2. Sight
a. mountain--majestic, magnificent, enormous, towering
3. Sound
a. traffic--blaring horns, rolling tires across bricks, policemen's whistles, motors
4. Touch
a. kitten--soft, furry, silky
5. Taste
a. lemon--pungent, citrusy, tart, sour
I keep a list of the 5 senses on the bulletin board above my computer. It helps to remind me to describe rather than tell.
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