When you’re
asked to describe something, what is your automatic first response? For most of
us, we start talking about how it looks. We focus on light, color, texture.
Many authors
are the same way. Their books are full of wonderful visual descriptions of people
and places. You can almost see yourself in the picture.
But can you
hear the picture? Smell it? We have five senses, and as a writer it’s up to you
to use them.
Hearing
Close your
eyes for a minute and listen to the world around you. Eyes open again? Good.
Okay, so what did you hear?
I hear the
quiet whir of my computer’s fan, muffled voices coming through the wall, a
distant rumble as the furnace turns on.
What does
that tell you about my setting?
Obviously, I’m
not at Starbucks. I’m not out dancing, or hanging out with friends, or running
for my life from a horde of zombies.
Force your
characters to close their eyes and listen. Start with the loud, obvious sounds.
A plane flying overhead (or a dragon). A jackhammer. Car horns. Swords crashing
against shields.
Not only will
your readers learn more about your setting, but your characters will, too. The
quiet scuff of a foot on the carpet might be the only thing that saves them
from the serial killer sneaking up on them.
Having them
hear their completely non-romantic best friend whisper “I love you” can
change the entire tone of your book. Be sure to listen for it.
Touch
Very often,
we can guess what something feels like just by looking at it, and from past
experience. A cat’s fur is usually soft and warm, fire is hot, sandpaper is
coarse. We don’t need to touch them to know that.
But there are
many things that are less obvious. Run your fingers along the wall-is it smooth,
textured, rough, warm, cool, damp, slimy?
Is the ground
under your feet hard-packed dirt or soft loam? Is the concrete rough or smooth?
Does the sandy beach scorch your bare feet, or push coldly up between your
toes?
Touch can be
an especially strong tool when it’s unexpected. Elegant looking clothes that turn
out stiff and scratchy. A metal doorknob that is burning hot because of a fire
on the far side, or icy cold because of a ghost.
Smell
We often
ignore our sense of smell because we don’t consider it that important. Just as
often, we wish we could ignore it because something really stinks. But as a
writer, you need to pay attention, especially when you want to feed your
characters vital clues.
The faint
whiff of gasoline warns of impending arson. The odor of decay promises that the
missing camper is nearby, and not as healthy as you had hoped. The alluring scent
of perfume rising from the envelope tells you this
isn’t hate mail, but far from it.
Smell is also
an incredibly strong provoker of memories. The right smell can send you years
into your past, to the heavenly aroma of your grandmother’s kitchen whenever
she baked cinnamon rolls, or to the sharp antiseptic bite of the hospital room
where you held her hand as she slipped away.
Taste
Taste can be one
of the hardest senses to use when building descriptions. Let’s face it, other
than when we eat, we don’t rely on our sense of taste much at all. But it
shouldn’t be overlooked, either.
When your
characters kiss, do they taste salty sweat, cherry lip balm, steel braces, sour
unbrushed teeth? A bloody lip may taste salty and metallic. You may taste the ozone
from an electrical discharge more than you smell it.
And by all
means, when your characters are eating, describe how it tastes, especially if
it is new, different, delicious, horrible, anything but normal.
Sight
Naturally, vision
is very important, and we should never lose sight of it (pun fully intended). But
be sure to look past the surface. Search for those tiny details that take your
readers beyond the normal, everyday world and immerse them fully in your
creation.
While you
could fill a book with descriptions that are purely visual, it will be incomplete.
Force your readers to experience your writing with all five of their senses,
and you’ll keep them coming back for more.
C. Wombat
Soria's writing
is compelling and draws you forward at a rapid pace, but does not skimp when it
comes to crafting a lavishly constructed world and multi-layered characters. The
seers and diviners might know what’s coming next, but the reader never does.
You won’t want to put it down.