Why Writing from the Senses Makes Sense
You need not consider yourself a poet to appreciate sensory details in writing, whether it’s poetry, fiction, non-fiction, etc. They engage our minds, memories, and imagination.
Drink in the details of this sensory-soaked example I found on the internet. Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. It’s all here:
Grandmother Workman lurched over and grabbed the pale skin of Randal’s thin forearm with her leathery hand. The folds and creases beneath her skin coiled themselves out like electrical writing, like the bloated, roughly-textured relief map of the world that his mother just posted above his bedside table. Randal looked ahead toward the winding spiral staircase, fidgeted with a small hole in his baseball jersey, and bit his lip. His mouth filled with the sweet, coppery taste of blood as she leaned in closely toward him, breathing her hot breath on the damp hair at the base of his neck. She smelled of wet cigarettes and bacon. As they slowly climbed the long, steep staircase, the only sound was his grandmothers’ labored breathing and the mournful creak of the wooden stairs.
Laura Deutsch breaks down each of these senses in Writing from the Senses, 59 Exercises to Ignite Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing. She touches on all types of writing—from memoir and journaling to fiction, journalism, poetry, travel, food writing, etc. Writing from the Senses is a new five-star release on Amazon. If it ends as strong as it began, Laura will also receive a five-star from me.
So, what’s your favorite sentence from the above paragraph?
seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our
hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we
have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life,
which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we
have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have
fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and
with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our
joy may be complete. 1 John 1:1-4