essay about travel experience using five senses

Mindful Travel Made Simple: Using Your 5 Senses

• Mindfulness , Slow & Mindful Travel
• August 14, 2024

In this Article

How many times have you returned from a trip, only to struggle to recall the details when someone asks about it? Despite just living it, the memories seem elusive, and you find yourself grasping for specifics. 

You remember the trip as being special, even magical, but when it comes to describing what you did, the details blur. This often happens when we get swept up in the rush of travel, moving from one activity to the next without truly soaking in the experience. We miss the subtle intricacies, the transformative power of truly being present.

Travel can easily turn into a checklist of destinations and experiences, where the deeper, more meaningful aspects of the journey are overlooked. But mindful, slow travel offers a different path—it encourages us to slow down, to immerse ourselves in the present moment, and to truly engage with the world around us.

What is slow Travel?

Slow travel isn’t actually about the pace of the travel you go at, but more about the intention and the mindset that you take towards your travels. 

You can take a slow travel approach to a weekend getaway just as much as you could for a three month sabbatical. The important thing is that you’re going about your travels with mindfulness and intention, which allows you to experience your destination on a deeper level, slowing you down mentally to be fully there in the present moment- or in other words traveling mindfully. 

Grounding in Our Senses

One of the most effective and easiest ways to cultivate mindfulness while traveling is by grounding yourself in your senses. When you fully engage with what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, you naturally become more mindful, anchored in the present. As one of my teachers once wisely said, “You can’t smell tomorrow.”

By tuning into your senses, you can transform your travels into rich, memorable experiences that nourish both your body and soul, ensuring that the magic of your journey stays with you long after you’ve returned home.

Mindful Travel Through the Senses

To use your senses as a tool for mindful travel, remind yourself each morning before you start your journey to be present through your senses throughout the day. 

When one sense naturally pulls you in, be it the smell of food you’ve never tasted before from a street food stall, or the smell of incense sticks burning in a temple, take a minute to pull in all of your other senses. What are you seeing and hearing? Is there something to taste or touch? 

By doing this we start to ground ourselves in the present of what is actually going on around us, rather than being one foot in the present while our mind is focused on where we are heading to next on our daily itinerary. 

When we start to make a habit out of this, we’ll start to see that our travel experiences deepen and become more nuanced, we start to notice the things we would have been oblivious to prior.

When we take a moment to really stop and notice the beauty that surrounds us, it’s a pretty incredible experience. There is endless opportunity to be abolsutly in awe of what we see everyday, let alone while we’re traveling.

To start to hone your new mindful travel practice, before you even leave your hotel or set foot outside, take a moment to notice the details around you—the play of light through a window, the texture of a wall, or the vibrant colors of your surroundings.

As you venture out, make it a point to truly see what’s around you. Notice the little things—the way a flower blooms on a street corner, the patterns of tiles in a local café, or the expressions on people’s faces as they go about their day. By starting your day with heightened visual awareness, you ground yourself in the present moment, making each scene more vivid and memorable.

Every destination has its own unique soundtrack—the honks of traffic, the chatter of locals, the rustle of leaves in a breeze. To heighten your auditory senses, tune into the sounds around you. Close your eyes for a moment and let the sounds come to you, without judgment or distraction.

As you move through your day, continue this practice of mindful listening. Whether it’s the sounds of the brids chirping, a rooster crowing, a street musician playing , or the gentle lapping of water against a shore, attuning yourself to these sounds can deepen your connection to your environment. 

When you listen with intent, you not only hear but also feel the pulse of the place you’re in, making your travel experience richer and more immersive.

When were traveling, there’s so many new scents for our nose to discover. Each day, consciously engage with the aromas around you.

Whether it’s the earthy scent of morning dew, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, or the fragrance of local spices wafting through a market, take a moment to breathe deeply and let the scent fill your senses.

By heightening your awareness of smell, you create a sensory map of your journey that lingers in your memory. Scent has a unique ability to evoke emotions and memories, anchoring you to a place in ways that sight or sound alone cannot.

Food is not just sustenance; it’s an integral part of the travel experience, offering insights into a culture’s traditions and way of life. 

Each day, make it a point to savor your meals mindfully. Before you eat, take a moment to appreciate the presentation—the colors, the arrangement, the care that went into preparing the dish.

As you eat, focus on the flavors and textures. Notice how each bite tastes, how the flavors evolve on your palate, and how the food makes you feel. 

By approaching each meal with heightened taste awareness, you not only enjoy your food more but also connect more deeply with the place and people who created it.

Touch is a powerful sense that often goes unnoticed in the flurry of travel. Yet, it can ground you in the physical world and deepen your connection to your surroundings.

Each day, make it a point to engage with your sense of touch. Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, the cool breeze against your face, or the texture of local materials—whether it’s the rough stone of an ancient building or the softness of a handmade scarf.

By heightening your awareness of touch, you anchor yourself in the present, making your experiences more tactile and real. Let this physical connection to the world around you enhance your sense of presence and mindfulness.

Heightened Senses, Heightened Experience

Entering each day with heightened senses transforms travel, slowing us down and allowing us to truly immerse ourselves in the experience.

By consciously sharpening your awareness of what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, you cultivate a mindful travel approach, bringing presence to each moment.

So, as you set out on your next adventure, remember to approach each day with your senses heightened. Let the world unfold before you in all its richness, and allow yourself to be fully present in the beauty and wonder of your journey.

• Mindful Travel , Slow Travel

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New York Through The 5 Senses, As Experienced By An Outsider

By Chris Backley

I grew up in Los Angeles, and I love it. I feel so passionately about my town that I feel I must draw a clear line in the sand when it comes to our coastal rivalry with New York. The east coast, and New York in particular, represents such a stark contrast to our sunshine-and-sandals ways in California. Prior to this trip, most of my experiences with New York were brief 4- to 12-hour trips taking the train in from Connecticut or driving through to get my favorite foods. But this trip in particular, there’s something different.

Here, New York through the five senses:

New York has a smell. It first hit me when taking the subway in from JFK. That old familiar scent that’s a mix of a shirt from a vintage clothing store and sulfur. What is that? As New York has been here elevendy million years, that smell in the subway is probably a combination of a lot of things. Maybe urine, maybe wafts from the ethnic food stalls, or maybe it’s whatever is steaming up from those random pipes in the middle of the street. They say smell can be the most powerful trigger for memory and the endearing scent of this town reminds me of the fondness so many have for New York, that lived-in smell.

Walking out of the serenity of my friend’s apartment on the Upper West Side you’re hit with a wall of sound on Amsterdam Ave. The siren. The garbage truck. The taxi accelerating. The kid laughing. The click of heels. The language of French and the language of “French.” The sound of a businessman yelling into his iPhone. The Puerto Rican couple arguing about Facebook. Now take all that and multiply it by ten, pretend it’s a fish, then slap yourself in the face with it. Sound is energy and that’s perhaps the most distinct part of the vibe of this city.

You are sticky. You are grimy. You are happy. You’re constantly aware of the space (or lack thereof) around you because you’re always in contact with other people — may it be passing on the street or jammed into a line outside of a bar. You are touching the turnstile to get in to the subway. Your legs are touching the seat of a taxi. The feel of the Post , err, I mean Times , in your hand. Your shoes on the cobblestoned streets in Greenwich. The warmth of slice of pizza in your hand. All of these things become that special touch of New York.

There are people that eat to live and those that live to eat. I am the guy that drove four hours to Philadelphia from New Haven just to try the two warring cheesesteak places Pat and Geno’s because I saw them featured on the Travel Channel (then of course stopped at Serendipity in New York on the way back). A big part of New York to me is the food and that’s a draw for any trip I take. I know I’m not alone in this, as this is where a large portion of Michelin-starred restaurants reside, and this is where cooks come to be chefs. May it be from that special blend of gourmet burger at Minetta Tavern, a deceitful crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside cookie from Levain Bakery, the pure genius of the Halal carts, or the jarring, simple decadence of a slice of Artichoke Pizza. I can’t articulate in words the flavors of this town, but somehow, the food always feels like love.

New York is visually stunning, defined by the people and the buildings. The people are energy, feeling, and movement that create emotion, splashed against the canvas of the architecture. The buildings provide a stark, static contrast and permanence to a town that is constantly evolving. The lone flower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk is beautiful. The giant trees in Washington Square Park are beautiful. The rowboats and the ice skating in Central Park are beautiful. The view from the top of Rockefeller center is beautiful (and better than the Empire State building). The street carts are beautiful. Times Square at night is beautiful. The women are beautiful. The sleeping homeless man is beautiful. The doormen are beautiful. The train conductors are beautiful. The NYPD is beautiful. Everything here is beautiful, near overwhelming, if you’re ready to look at it full-on.

If you asked me two years ago about this town I would have said “I like New York but I’m not in love with it.” So if much of love is timing, then what does that mean for me now?

New York, I love you.

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February 2, 2021, five days and five senses: free writing as a daily practice, prompts to help you build stronger writing muscles every day.

By Jacqui Banaszynski

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Wilhelm Gunkel via Unsplash

But it’s now February — a new month of that new year. Most wisdom tells us that behavior changes need 28 days of practice before they take hold as a habit. So February, with its 28 days, seems an apt time to dust off those discarded resolutions and start anew. And if you didn’t dive in on Feb. 1, that’s no excuse: Feb. 3 or 7 or 23 is just as good. The key is not the date on the calendar, but the doing of something each day.

To try to help, through the month we’re going to revisit some daily writing practices and perhaps introduce new ones if we bump into them. Let’s start small, which is how resolutions are actually kept: Not 20 pounds in a month, but no cream in your coffee in the morning. Not 10,000 steps a day, but a walk around the block, then around two, then three.

I just finished a weekend immersion writing workshop, via Zoom, with 10 writers who came to the course with a wide range of backgrounds and goals. Not all were or are journalists. Those who were wanted to up their game, or get back into it. One wanted to find what she felt she had missed in a graduate journalism program interrupted by COVID. Many wanted to explore writing memoirs or travel essays. I couldn’t fashion a one-size-fits-all workshop. And I didn’t feel I could ask busy people, already distracted by the demands of life, to spend their entire weekend writing and sharing and critiquing. Whatever we tried needed to be tried in small bites.

Don’t know where to start? Try short free writes with a simple prompt.

A week before the immersion weekend, we had a Zoom meet-and-greet, and I gave them this assignment, which combined daily free writes with sensory reporting/writing:

Sensory reporting (awareness) is a key to compelling storytelling, especially in the realm of narrative, poetry or essay. Humans — whom we write about and for — are sensory creatures. A key way to draw them into a piece about someone other than themselves is to use the senses as connectors. Senses also have the magical quality of being both specific and universal. They are at the heart of the physics of storytelling: The more individual and unique, the more universal. WRITING EXERCISE For each of the next five days, use one of the five senses to do a free-write: Monday: SIGHT Tuesday: SOUND Wednesday: TOUCH Thursday: TASTE Friday: SMELL Try the 4 + 4 + 2 method. (Four minutes of writing, then break for 30 seconds. Four minutes of writing, break. Two minutes. Done.) This means you should be spending no more than 12 minutes writing each day. Your free writes are not meant to be finished or polished pieces; they are practice . You may surprise yourself and produce a piece that feels complete. You may open a doorway to an idea or approach that has been eluding you. And you will learn to handle tools of the craft. This works best longhand: When you begin, keep going. Do NOT pause, scratch out or edit. Just keep your pen moving and moving and moving. Don’t know what to write? Then write: “ I don’t know what to write” as many times as you need, and take it from there. (The reason I encourage longhand writing is because it slows you down just enough to be thoughtful without thinking about it. The temptation to delete and rewrite on a keyboard is simply too great. And those of us who write or edit for a living can fall into a professional mode on the keyboard; we write the way our job expects us to write — not the way our story wants to be written.) Begin with a prompt so you don’t waste time trying to think about what to write. It really doesn’t matter. Don’t know what prompt to use? Then start with some simple variation of one of these: I remember the sight (sound, touch, taste, smell) of… (memory) OR I saw/see (heard, touched, tasted, smelled) … (current time) Pick a moment — often a description or quick scene — and go from there. Be specific and, as much as possible, factual. We are writing nonfiction. Stuff taken from real life is often more compelling than anything we can make up. And even if your goal is to write fiction, you need to plug into the senses of the real world. Some of the senses will work better for you than others. Again, it doesn’t matter. What does is that you tune yourself into the world — pay attention — and describe it as concretely and evocatively as you can.

Two days in, I was getting emails of distress: Am I doing this right? I started with a sense but kept getting philosophical — what am I doing wrong? How long is my free write supposed to be? 

Then we gathered for the weekend, dug deeper into the soul and tools of writing, did two more free writes with different prompts, and each of them read their free-write of choice. The best word I can use to describe my reaction to their work is humbled.

I asked them to comment on what the exercises taught them. Here are three, shared with permission:

I’m pretty Type A, so free writing does not come naturally to me (as an example: I did pre-reporting to check facts about the stuff I knew I wanted to free write about…). So I was surprised when setting a timer and just letting loose actually worked. Usually, I’m way too absorbed in trying to write something “good.” Free writing let me get out my shitty first draft without wasting time editing as I went along. There will be time to go back and rework — this helped me just get it out quickly. Writing is a practice; I won’t improve unless I work these muscles regularly. Free-writing can help me do that, in about 10 minutes a day. ~ Kristin Kellogg, communications manager at a nonprofit I absolutely loved the free writing, using the five senses as prompts. When I’m working on a story or an essay, it’s easy to write down details for sight and sound, but I don’t usually give a lot of love to the other senses. I forget about them. I had an interview in the latter part of last week with a man who grew up working at a fertilizer factory on Long Island, and I found myself asking him if the plant smelled. I’m not sure I would’ve thought to ask him that if I hadn’t just done a free write on smell. ~ Caren Chesler, freelance science journalist I expected and did experience significant discomfort in these assignments. Free-writing removes the structures we cling to that we think keep us safe and accepted. By taking away the guardrails, my thoughts started fast-walking me alongside a cliff, and damn if it wasn’t windy out there. When I felt myself stepping back by disengaging or purposely not writing what was on my mind, I realized I was either trying to make myself look good or avoid looking bad. Like anyone, I don’t want to be misunderstood or mocked. It’s scary to push through and accept that I can’t prevent, predict or ply a reader’s reaction. But when I gave myself permission to write some truly shitty sentences and to stop expecting ju dgment , then my free-writing revealed much more than my insecurities. ~ Mike Wells, freelance journalist and marketing content writer

Confession: I have never been comfortable with free writing myself, or journaling of any kind. Or maybe, as a daily newspaper reporter for much of my career, I was free writing every day; we just called it writing on deadline.

It’s the dailiness that builds the muscles, the discipline of actually writing rather than just thinking about writing, and having something — a news event or a simple prompt — to write about.

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Incorporating the Five Senses in Your Writing

If you want to engage a reader into your written world, you must incorporate sensory data, so their imaginations will ignite. Sense memory is one of the quickest ways to transport an audience into your novel. When describing the plate of Mexican food above, I could say that it looked good…but what does “good” look like? “The enchiladas were covered with melted cheese and spicy ranchero sauce,” immediately transports you south of the border.

Let’s go further, using all five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch.

The combo plate included four enchiladas and a taco.

The combination enchilada plate at Carmelita’s was generous enough to feed four hungry lumberjacks .

The food smelled good.

As the server set the fragrant offering before me, the chile relleno’s spicy aroma tickled my nose.

  I heard music playing.

The mariachi band’s salsa tune was accented by the syncopated rhythm of the electronic cash register.

I ate my dinner.

My mouth discovered the creamy center of the queso blanco and spinach enchilada, while a hint of nutmeg in the béchamel sauce intrigued my tongue.

I grabbed my plate.

The stoneware platter was sizzling hot; I placed my blistered finger on the icy margarita glass.

Adding sensory details to a piece of prose imparts multidimensional imagery that readers crave. Jessica Bell, author of Show & Tell in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Telling to Showing, says that her writing changed when she added concreteness. “My writing had become cinematic, it had movement, my characters were three dimensional and I didn’t even have to mention their personality traits because I was showing them. But above all, my writing evoked emotion.”

 “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”– Anton Chekhov

Sources: WordServe Water Cooler, WritersDigest.com, novel-writing-help.com, writingcenterunderground.wordpress.com.

5 thoughts on “ Incorporating the Five Senses in Your Writing ”

Awesome points and excellent examples!

Thanks, Sam! Of course, I use food for examples. It comes naturally!

Okay, I’m hungry now! You are right, it’s the use of all those sensory details that really pull us into a good story!

Thanks for the comment, OneMommy! I love the richness that sensory detail imparts.

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English Compositions

Essay on Travel Experience [200, 500 Words] With PDF

Travelling plays an important role in our lives as it enriches our experience. In this lesson, you will learn to write essays in three different sets on the importance of libraries. It will help you in articulating your thoughts in the upcoming exams.

Table of Contents

Essay on travel experience in 200 words, essay on travel experience in 500 words.

We travel to get away from the monotony of our daily lives. It’s a refreshing diversion from the monotony of everyday life. It allows our minds to relax and gives our inner child the opportunity to play. Some trip memories are nostalgic and melancholy, while others are daring and exhilarating. A trip to the graveyard, the poet’s corner in London, or one’s ancestral house, for example, is a voyage to nostalgia.

These travels allow them to relive memories and treasure golden memories from a bygone era. People who go on these journeys are frequently depressed and artistically inclined. Travelling instils a sense of adventure and encourages us to make the most of every opportunity. Some people prefer to travel in groups, whereas others prefer to travel alone.

Trips to amusement parks with massive roller coasters or a deeply wooded forest could be exciting. It’s important to remember that Columbus discovered America due to his travels. The journey becomes much more memorable when things don’t go as planned. For example, if a car tyre blows out on the highway and it begins to rain heavily, the trip will turn into an adventure, even though it was not intended to be such. A visit to a museum or a gothic structure, on the other hand, is sure to be exciting.

We travel to get a break from the mundane and robust lifestyle. It is a welcome change from the monotonous routine existence. It helps our minds rest and gives the inner child within us to have a good time.

Not all travelling experiences are adventurous and exciting, and some are nostalgic and melancholic. For instance, a trip to the cemetery or the poet’s corner in London or one’s ancestral home will be a nostalgia trip. Such trips help them re-live the moments and cherish the golden memories of bygone times. People who undertake such trips are often melancholic and have an artistic sensibility.

Travelling experiences bring enthusiasm and teach us to make the best of every moment. While some enjoy travelling in groups, some people love to travel solo. Adventurous trips could be to amusement parks with giant roller coasters or a deep, dense forest. One must not forget that travelling led Columbus to discover America. When things don’t go as planned, the trip becomes more memorable. For instance, if the car tyre gets punctured on the highway and starts raining heavily, the trip, even if not intended to be adventurous, shall become one. A trip to a museum or gothic architecture shall be thrilling. 

Last Christmas, my trip to Goa with my friends was an enriching one. The golden sun-soaked beaches offered a refuge from the humdrum city life of Kolkata. The cool breeze, the rising and setting sun, and the chilly wind all transported me to heaven. It was paradisal and divine. The cuisine was exquisite. The Portuguese culture and the museums offer various historical insights.

Although it was the peak season and most crowded places, people were civilised and cultured. The melodious music was in the air in every nook and corner, and the happy vibes were contagious. I danced, sang, played and had a great time. I tried sky diving, and it was a thrilling experience.

Besides fun and frolic, I found the independent spirit of people commendable. We spent three days in North Goa and two days in South Goa. We stayed at a guest house as most hotels were expensive and very occupied. We booked scooters to travel far and near. We also went on the cruise for the casino night.

My favourite spot was Thalassa, where we enjoyed the spectacular belly dance performance by males and females. We spent Christmas at Curlies witnessing the waxing moon at midnight. The lap of nature enriches one travelling experience and soothes their soul. The chirping of birds, the sound of the waterfall, the waves of a beach or the snow-covered mountain uplifts the traveller’s spirit.

One must not restrict oneself to a specific type of travelling experience. Life, after all, is a long journey that offers us different durations of vacations to make us laugh and learn at the same time. As Francis Bacon puts it, “Travel in the younger sort is a part of education, in the elder, a part of the experience.”

Hopefully, after going through this lesson, you have a holistic idea of the importance of travelling in our lives. I have tried to cover every aspect of a traveller’s experience within limited words. If you still have any doubts regarding this session, kindly let me know through the comment section below. To read more such essays on many important topics, keep browsing our website. 

Join us on Telegram to get the latest updates on our upcoming sessions. Thank you, see you again soon.

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A Feast for the Senses: Using Sensory Details in Descriptive Writing

Demme Learning · November 11, 2022 · Leave a Comment

One of the hardest parts of writing is perfecting the art of description. Adding vivid descriptions, or what writers call sensory details, is what brings the reader’s experience of a scene, character, or feeling to life within a piece of writing. But it’s certainly not an easy skill to master.

While students love reading pieces that contain these engaging descriptions, they often have a hard time creating and adding them in their own writing. In this blog post, we’ve highlighted a few ways to help you explain what sensory details are and get your students inspired to write more meaningful descriptions.

What Are Sensory Details?

Sensory details are descriptive words used within a piece of writing to evoke a mental image and an emotion and/or sensation for the reader. When a writer uses rich, descriptive language that appeals to the reader’s five senses, it transports them into the scene. Not only does this help the reader become more engaged with the text, but it also increases their comprehension.

Think of it this way: have you ever listened to someone give a dull, monotonous presentation or speech? It was pretty hard to pay attention, right? At some point as they droned on, your eyes likely glazed over and your mind began to wander. Unfortunately, you probably didn’t take much—if anything—away from the presentation. You may not even remember what it was about!

In the same sense, if you read something that’s vague and boring, what happens? You probably either:

A: Get confused and frustrated. B: Start daydreaming as you read. C: Stop reading it entirely.

Writers who don’t include good descriptive words or imagery risk losing their readers because they can’t get a clear understanding of the characters, setting, or plot. So, when teaching your students descriptive writing , be sure to have them practice using vivid language and sensory details that will grasp their reader’s attention.

Examples of Sensory Details

To give you a better idea of how sensory details add interest, emotion, and clarity to a piece of writing, let’s compare a few sentences that use vague descriptions versus vivid ones.

• Sentence 1 : The ice cream was very cold. (vague)
• Sentence 2 : The green, minty ice cream was so cold, I felt a stabbing pain behind my right eye. (vivid)

The second sentence does a much better job of engaging the reader’s senses. The readers might almost be able to taste and smell the mint ice cream or feel an excruciating brain freeze. This helps them relate to what the character is going through.

• Sentence 3 : My dog was scared of the storm. (vague)
• Sentence 4 : My 120-pound Rottweiler trembled anxiously in the corner as the lightning crashed and thunder rumbled outside. (vivid)

While the description in the third sentence does communicate a point clearly, it still leaves the reader with questions. What kind of dog? What kind of storm? The details provided in the fourth sentence allow the reader to visualize the scene much better. It also elicits more of an emotional response as you picture a massive, seemingly fearless dog cowering in a corner. This is why using sensory details makes such a big difference in writing.

4 Steps to Teach Students to Use Sensory Details

Want your student to use better descriptions and sensory language in their writing? Try these four steps to help them understand how to come up with strong sensory details.

1) Discuss the Five Senses

Our five senses help us experience the world around us. With your students, work through the following steps to develop words and descriptions using their five senses as a starting point.

• Talk about sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.
• Collect words from your students that fall within each category. They will likely suggest that something can look pretty or ugly, sound loud or quiet , feel hard or soft , smell good or bad , taste yummy or gross .
• This is a great way to help them identify weak, unimaginative descriptions.

Talk about why it’s difficult to come up with sensory words in this manner. As you share your story, help them grasp the idea that writing with your senses means taking time to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste what you’re trying to write about.

2) Experience the Five Senses

This is where the lesson gets fun. Gather some objects your students can experience with each of their senses, such as:

• Sweet, salty, sour, or bitter foods for them to taste
• Various textured objects that are interesting to touch
• Noise-making items to listen to
• Fragrant or aromatic things to smell
• Objects that are colorful and interesting to look at

For example, let’s say you gathered some slime, a fork, and a rock to help them experience their sense of touch. Let children take turns closing their eyes and feeling an item. Remind them to focus only on the sense of touch.

Next, hide a bell, rattle, squeaky toy, or other noise-making items in a box or bag. Have students close their eyes as you produce one of the sounds. Then, make a list together of specific words to describe it. Try this again with the other noise-making objects.

Now that you’ve experimented with different senses of touch and sound, repeat this exercise to explore more senses.

3) Pull Out the Thesaurus

A thesaurus is a writer’s best friend. Not only can this tool help your students find synonyms for repeated words and phrases that keep cropping up in their writing, it can also help them find robust words to use as sensory details.

Teach your students (or review) how to use the thesaurus . Then, ask them to look over their list of descriptive words from Step 2 and find a powerful synonym for each one. For example, perhaps they’d replace the word “rough” with “jagged,” “ringing” with “tinkling,” and “sour” with “tart.”

Once your students are done finding new words in the thesaurus, have them compare their list with the one they made at the very beginning (Step 1). They will likely agree that the new words describe the way an object looks, feels, smells, tastes, and sounds much better than the original ones, which will ultimately help their reader form a mental picture.

4) Practice Using Sensory Details

Now that your students have a collection of engaging words to draw from, invite them to create a poem or narrative containing sensory details! If you want to ease them into the writing process, consider starting with a descriptive writing prompt instead. Here are some ideas you can use:

Descriptive Writing Prompts for Elementary Schoolers

Do you have a younger student? Try out these prompts to get them started with sensory details!

• Main Street, USA: Your pen pal and her parents are thinking of moving to your hometown. Describe your town or city, especially the sights and scenery it offers to curious visitors.
• Surfing and Snowflakes: Would you rather spend a day catching waves by the beach or throwing snowballs at your best friend? Describe your favorite season, including the activities that make it so appealing to you.
• Pet Detective: Do you have a pet dog, cat, lizard, hamster, or turtle? Describe what it looks like. How does it behave? Does it make any sounds? Does it have a smell? Use as many sensory details as you can. If you don’t have a pet, write about another animal you’re familiar with.

Descriptive Writing Prompts for Middle Schoolers

Choose from these engaging prompts to get your middle school student excited to write!

• Happy Birthday: Birthdays are celebrated in many different ways. Describe birthday festivities in your house, including the food, gifts, and favorite family traditions.
• Welcome to the 22nd Century: Describe a car or house in the future. Which familiar items are missing? What new technology has developed, and how does it contribute to our well-being, comfort, or convenience?
• Dare to be Different: Think of the most unusual person you have known: their personality, physical qualities, etc. Then, try to capture this amazing person on paper.

Descriptive Writing Prompts for High Schoolers

Does your teenage student need some extra help with sensory details? Here are a few simple prompts for them to practice.

• Places and Spaces: Where’s the place that you feel most at ease? Is it in your bedroom? Sitting on a dock by the water? Under a certain tree at the park? In your grandma’s kitchen? Put yourself there in your mind (or even go there if you can) and describe what it’s like.
• Making Memories: Some of the best memories are made when families plan a special day together. Describe a family vacation or outing that was especially memorable for you. Where did you go? What did you do? What was it like?
• Inside Your Mind: Do you remember a certain dream or nightmare you had? It likely involved some strange or silly things. Describe everything you recall from the dream so the reader feels like they were in it with you.

Using sensory details is an incredibly important skill for students to master in order to make their writing more interesting and understandable. Hopefully, this blog post will leave you with some good takeaways to help your student enhance their descriptive writing.

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Sensory Details Examples And Language In Writing

Sensory language is one of the most powerful tools in a writer’s toolbox. It can be used to create vivid and memorable images in the reader’s mind, and help them feel what it is like to experience an event or object.

In this guide, we take an in-depth look at sensory details, examples of sensory language, and useful, easy-to-understand tips that you can implement in your writing today.

Let’s dive in.

What Is Sensory Language In Writing?

Why is sensory language effective, when should you use a sensory description, what are some examples of sensory language, sensory language #1 – textures, sensory language #2 – describing sounds, sensory language #3 – describing taste, sensory language #4 – describing smells, sensory words infographic, advice for using sensory details, learn more about writing prose.

The five senses are sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. Sensory language can be used to describe an object or person in a way that appeals to one or more of these senses. For example: “The smell of freshly cut grass filled her nostrils.”

So, what is sensory language in writing ?

The use of sensory language in writing allows writers to create a more vivid and immersive experience for their readers. It also helps writers evoke an emotional response from their readers by describing things that they can see, touch, taste, smell or hear.

It’s a way of describing something in detail to make it more vivid for the reader. It can be used to describe anything from the sound of an ice cream truck’s jingle to the smell of freshly baked bread, or even the feeling of sitting on a cotton ball.

So, what is it about sensory language that makes it so effective? Let’s take a look at some reasons:

• It makes the writing more engaging and evocative – Sensory language helps to create vivid and detailed images in the reader’s mind, which can make the writing more interesting and captivating.
• It helps to create a sense of immersion – By appealing to the five senses, sensory language helps to immerse the reader in the scene or setting, making it feel more real and tangible.
• It can add emotional depth – Sensory language can be used to create a specific mood or atmosphere and to convey the emotions of the characters . For example, describing the smell of a freshly baked pie can evoke feelings of comfort and nostalgia.
• It can make the writing more descriptive and precise – Sensory language allows the writer to describe things in a way that is more specific and accurate, which can make the writing more effective and powerful.
• It can be used to add metaphor and symbolism – Sensory language can be used to create metaphorical and symbolic connections between the world of the story and the reader’s own experiences, making the writing more meaningful and impactful.

In short, sensory language is a powerful tool that can help writers to create more vivid, immersive, and emotionally resonant writing. It makes the writing more interesting, engaging, and memorable for the readers, allowing them to get lost in the story and connect with the characters and the setting.

For many writers, the toughest part is knowing when to use a sensory description. As you may have heard, using too many adjectives and adverbs can slow down the flow of the writing. So that leaves writers conscious about when to invest words in describing scenes.

However, there are certain points in a story that warrants a sensory description. For example:

• When describing a character  – using sensory descriptions when describing characters can elevate the impression they give. For instance, saying someone looked homeless is quite bland in comparison to describing how they smell, or how the coarseness of their hands.
• Describing scenes  – this is the most important moment to introduce some sensory description. For instance, if you’re trying to describe a  battle scene  in a fantasy book, in order to draw readers deeper into that scene, you’re going to have to show them not just how the battlefield looks, but the cries of pain and terror. The smells of the fearful, the dying, the dead. The sensation of hacking another person down with a sword or axe. There are so many details you can include, and all of them take your story to the next level.
• When linking in memories  – the five senses often provoke memories. A smell, for instance, can transport us back years to a particular moment when we first experienced that smell.

These are definitely the key points in a story to introduce some sensory details in your writing, but be aware that it’s not just limited to these instances.

Sensory language is a type of descriptive writing that appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Here are some examples of sensory language for each sense:

• Sight : “The sun was a fiery orb, casting a warm golden glow on the fields.”
• Sound : “The symphony of birdsong filled the air, a melodic harmony of tweets and trills.”
• Touch : “The cool marble floor numbed her feet and sent shivers up her spine as she walked.”
• Taste : “The tartness of the lemonade made her pucker, while the sweetness of the sugar balanced it out.”
• Smell : “The pungent aroma of garlic and onions wafted from the kitchen, making her mouth water.”

These examples show how sensory language can help create vivid and detailed images in the reader’s mind, making the writing more engaging and evocative. And it’s not limited to only fiction or descriptive writing, it can be used in any type of writing to add more depth and richness to the text.

More Examples Of Sensory Language

We know now the importance of using sensory language—it has the ability to elevate your writing to new levels by immersing readers deeper into the tale by creating vivid images in their minds.

To help better your understanding, let’s take a look at some examples of how writers can achieve this on a more practical level—by using sensory words.

Textures are a very interesting thing to describe when writing stories, but they can be tricky to do. They’re not something that we instantly go toward, but they’re important. For example, if you like watching true crime documentaries, you may see victims of attacks talk about the coarseness of their attacker’s hands, for example.

Here are some sensory words to help you describe textures:

Sound is go-to tool when describing things using the 5 senses in writing. Like the other senses, sounds can trigger memories. They can warn us of incoming danger, or they can bring joy to our hearts (like when I’m listening to The Allman Brothers).

Using vivid sensory words can help you elevate your descriptions when it comes to your writing. Here are some examples:

Taste is a sense that doesn’t get used too often in writing. However, it’s perhaps one of most significant and powerful of all the 5 senses.

We rely on this sense as a source of pleasure from the food and drinks we consume. And we can attach memories and meanings to these tastes. These memories can be quite vivid too.

For example, I still cannot drink vodka and ginger ale after consuming way too much in a nightclub in my university years. I threw up violently at the end of the night and now even the slightest similarity in taste has me baulking.

Have you ever experienced anything like this too? Jot down those memories and use them as a reference for your character creation.

To help you along, here’s a bunch of examples of sensory language and words you can use to help describe taste:

• Salivatingly good

Let’s take a look at some sensory language examples for describing smells.

It’s important to bear in mind that the scents we whiff c an trigger both emotions and memories . Sometimes we can recall vivid memories when we smell something. For example, your mother’s famous home cooking.

When it comes to writing with the 5 senses, including some of these adjectives or emotions can really jazz up your story.

Here are some examples of words that describe smells:

And here are some synonyms to help you vary up your word usage and to save using the word “smell” over and over:

Here’s a cracking little infographic packed with sensory words:

Sensory Details: Examples To Elevate Your Writing

So we’ve explored sensory language and considered myriad examples. Now I want to dive deeper and look at some sensory details examples that you can use to take the word describe above and weave them into rich and vivid sentences.

Below, you can find 50 examples of sensory details, ten for each sense. Notice how use of the sensory detail draws you deeper into the scene. And you can see here just how simple it is.

• The golden sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of leaves.
• The crystal-clear water sparkled under the midday sun.
• The vibrant red roses stood out against the lush green garden.
• The mist hung low over the quiet, cobblestone streets.
• The flickering candle cast dancing shadows on the wall.
• The mountain peaks were dusted with a fresh layer of snow.
• The rusty, abandoned car was covered in creeping vines.
• The bustling marketplace was a kaleidoscope of colors and movement.
• The storm clouds gathered, darkening the horizon ominously.
• The stained glass windows glowed with rich, vivid hues.
• The leaves rustled gently in the autumn breeze.
• The distant rumble of thunder signaled an approaching storm.
• The melodic chirping of birds greeted the dawn.
• The waves crashed rhythmically against the rocky shore.
• The soft whisper of the wind carried a hint of salt from the sea.
• The crackling fire provided a comforting backdrop to the quiet evening.
• The church bells rang out, echoing through the village.
• The mournful howl of a wolf pierced the stillness of the night.
• The rhythmic ticking of the clock filled the silent room.
• The lively chatter of a crowded café created a cheerful ambiance.
• The aroma of freshly baked bread wafted through the air.
• The scent of pine needles filled the forest after the rain.
• The fragrant blossoms of the gardenia bush perfumed the evening air.
• The sharp tang of lemon zest invigorated the senses.
• The musty smell of old books lingered in the library.
• The earthy scent of damp soil rose up after the summer rain.
• The smoky aroma of barbecue drifted from the backyard.
• The pungent odor of garlic and onions sizzling in the pan was mouth-watering.
• The delicate fragrance of lavender provided a calming effect.
• The acrid smell of burning rubber was overpowering.
• The tartness of the lemonade made my mouth pucker.
• The rich, creamy chocolate melted on my tongue.
• The salty crunch of the potato chips was addictive.
• The sweet, juicy burst of fresh strawberries was delightful.
• The spicy heat of the chili left a lingering warmth.
• The bitter aftertaste of the strong coffee was unmistakable.
• The buttery smoothness of the avocado was heavenly.
• The tangy zest of the lime added a refreshing twist.
• The savory richness of the beef stew was comforting.
• The subtle sweetness of the honey balanced the flavor perfectly.
• The cool, smooth surface of the marble countertop felt luxurious.
• The rough bark of the old oak tree was textured with deep grooves.
• The soft, fluffy fur of the kitten was soothing to stroke.
• The prickly sensation of the cactus needles warned me to be careful.
• The warm, gentle breeze caressed my skin.
• The icy chill of the snow made my fingers tingle.
• The gritty texture of the sandpaper was harsh against my palm.
• The silky fabric of the dress flowed gracefully.
• The clammy dampness of the cave walls was uncomfortable.
• The firm handshake conveyed confidence and assurance.

These sensory details can help create vivid and immersive descriptions, making the reader feel more engaged with the writing.

Here are some tips for using language to create a sensory experience:

• Use specific and concrete words – Instead of using abstract or general words, try to use specific and concrete words that appeal to the five senses. This will help to create a more detailed and vivid image in the reader’s mind.
• Try to show instead of tell – Instead of telling the reader how something looks, sounds, feels, tastes, or smells, try to show it to them through descriptive language. This will help to create a more immersive and realistic sensory experience.
• Vary your sensory language – Use a mix of sensory language to appeal to different senses and create a more well-rounded sensory experience.
• Be selective – Use sensory language when it adds to the scene or story. Don’t overuse it as it can become overwhelming and lose its effect.
• Use imagery and metaphor – Use imagery and metaphors to create symbolic and metaphorical connections between the sensory details in the story and the reader’s own experiences.
• Practice and experiment – Writing with sensory language is a skill that can be developed with practice, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different words and phrases to find what works best for your writing.
• Read and study other writers – Reading widely, and studying the work of experienced writers who use sensory language effectively can be a great way to learn and develop your own skills.

Hopefully, these tips and the rest in this guide will help to use language to create a more immersive and memorable sensory experience for your readers and make your writing more engaging and impactful.

Below, you can find more guides and resources on writing prose:

• Learn all about prose and writing here
• Or visit here to learn about foreshadowing conflict
• Or head here to learn how to build suspense
• Learn about sensory details and examples in this guide by Lewis University
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How to Use All 5 Senses When You Travel

We call it sightseeing, of course. Emphasis on sight . And we take lots of photographs so that we can look at them again later. But perhaps we’re missing out on experiencing our travels fully if we don’t make an effort to involve the rest of our senses, too. Here are my tips for how to do this.

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Tasting Your Travels

After seeing, tasting is the next most obvious sense to use on your travels. But many of us, including me, don’t always do this very well. In fact, I think using your sense of taste to experience a new culture is a skill you really have to practice.

As well as getting yourself accustomed to tastes that you don’t usually find at home, for example, being able to eat really spicy food in Korea or strangely textured raw seafood in Japan, you should do some research before you hit the road. The real local foods are sometimes hard for travelers to find, because we don’t know what to ask for.

Surf the web to find examples of typical local foods, and pay special attention to dishes that might belong to just one particular city or region. If you note down some names you’ll have a good chance of being able to eat authentically by asking around in restaurants once you arrive. Too often I’ve returned from a trip somewhere, only to have someone ask me if I’d tried some unusual meal I’d never heard of. Arm yourself with information before you go.

And a side note: tasting might not only involve food. My niece and nephew from California visited Australia last summer, and reported that the water in the Indian Ocean tastes significantly more salty than their Pacific Ocean water.

A Sense of Touch on Your Trip

Using the sense of touch is really a reflex, but we don’t often think it over later. Walk through a fabric stall at a market or even a supermarket and you’ll probably notice yourself reaching out to feel the texture of an object in front of you. Make this a more intentional practice and start comparing and contrasting what you feel.

All kinds of objects on your travels have interesting feels and textures to them, and you often don’t have to go far out of your way to find them. Even the different textures of banknotes across the world — try Australia’s slippery plastic notes, for a start — make for interesting observations. If you’re a journal writer , these are the vivid memories that will make a destination come alive for you again when you re-read your journal entries.

In my case, I’m insatiably curious about touching beach sand. Blindfold me and drop handfuls of sand from various beaches around the world through my fingers and I might even be able to identify a fair few of them.

Have A Nose For Your Journey, From The Start

There are, let’s be perfectly honest, destinations that have a really distinct smell from your homeland. For me, Vietnam was the first place I visited that completely overwhelmed my sense of smell. That first evening in Ho Chi Minh City, I wandered the streets trying to identify individual smells from the cacophony invading my nose.

Somehow, the distressing part was that after three or four days, I couldn’t smell anything unusual anymore. My senses had become accustomed to the various scents of a Vietnamese city, and it was all every day again. After returning from a day trip out into the countryside, I could get a bit more of an impression of the smells of the city, but it was never the same as when I’d first arrived. I’m guessing it’s the same for most of us, so make a big effort when you first arrive in a new place to identify and appreciate the smells around you.

You can also indulge your sense of smell in particularly fragrant places — smell the flowers in the local botanical gardens, or take a sniff of a dozen different incense sticks at a market stall. Smells are something you simply can’t take home with you, so savor them while you can.

Listening to Your Destination

The first way to listen to your destination is to take off your iPod. I’m guilty of this in my hometown, and on the odd day my battery’s flat I’m always surprised by the interesting conversation snippets I overhear, or the new languages of tourists that I hear around me. Simply hearing the every day noises of your destination can give you all kinds of information. You can learn a few words of the language, understand how people’s intonation reflects their moods, or be amused by the cute bell sound made when someone wants to stop the bus.

You can go one step further and record interesting sounds on your travels, too. You might pick some up on your video recorder, or better take some kind of MP3 recorder, and listen out for particular, typical noises that you can take home as souvenirs. In Japan, for example, I was obsessed with recording the various tunes that traffic lights would sing when it was time for pedestrians to cross.

Similarly, if you meet some friendly locals, get them to record a message for you. Ask them some questions about their homeland, or get them to record a phrase in their own language.

Seeing Better: More Than Just Sightseeing

My sense of sight while traveling improved most after I met the man who’s now my husband. I think that’s because he’s an artist, and taught me to look at things from new angles and to see objects in other ways. As he rightly explained, I’m a “words person” and I could definitely tell you what the captions at the museum said or what the signs on the bus stop were telling us, but ask me the color or shape and I’d be lost.

Practice seeing more than you usually see. Take time to really look at a church, street or hostel room, and imagine how you would describe it on the phone to someone back home, someone who can’t see any of what you’re seeing. I was amazed at all the details I’d been missing all these years.

So next time you’re traveling, remember that it’s not just about sightseeing. We’ve got five senses to use and they can make all of our trips more memorable. And any more tips on making the most of all the senses while we travel are very welcome.

Excellent article, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It reminded me to read again one of my favourite books, Alain de Boton book, The Philosophy of Travel.

Wow, thanks Angela, that’s a great compliment. The Philosophy of Travel is a favourite of mine too, that I keep meaning to read again.

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Very cool article! I’ve always done some of these things intuitively, but it’s great to quantify experiences and try to recreate the process over and over again. Thanks for the article!

Right on – thanks for your kind words, Johnathan!

Great article! One of the things I remember most from my travels are the sounds, especially the birds in Australia; they sound so different from the twitterings of birds in the US.

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How To Use Your Five Senses When Writing: Really Useful Links by Amanda J Evans

Amanda J Evans

• 18 February 2021

In this week’s column, the focus is on how to use your five senses when writing fiction. Uses the senses helps to bring description and scenes to life on the page and pull the reader into your story. The links I’ve chosen include tips and advise on how to effectively use the five senses to bring your fiction to life as well as an article that includes some great examples of using the five senses in writing. I hope you find them useful and they help you to improve your writing.

• https://www.fuseliterary.com/2017/03/17/tips-to-use-your-five-senses-when-writing/ – Tips to Use Your Five Senses When Writing: This is a short read that includes a paragraph for each of the five senses and how you can use them when writing fiction. There is an example included and some information on what to focus on when using each of the senses.
• https://writersedit.com/fiction-writing/use-all-five-senses-unlock-fictional-world/ – How to Use All 5 Senses To Unlock Your Fictional World: The sense work brilliantly when you are writing description and in this article each of the five senses is taken and detailed so you know how to get the most out of them. There are videos included in the article as well as some great examples to show how each of the senses can enrich your prose. At the end of each sense are some tips on how you can start using it. This is a detailed article and I recommend putting aside some time to read it thoroughly.
• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-use-the-five-senses-in-your-writing – How to Use the Five Senses in Your Writing: This is an article from MasterClass that explains that in order to create descriptions that will stay with your readers it is important to understand and know how to use the five senses in writing. This article is broken down into different sections and includes a section on how to write with sight, taste, touch, smell, and sound. There are writing prompts, and tips included with each section too.
• https://www.novel-writing-help.com/descriptive-writing-2.html – Description Writing and the 5 Senses: This is a detailed article that explores how to use your five senses when writing fiction and it has a section for each sense including the addition of the sixth sense. The article begins with a look at what sensory description is before jumping into each of the senses. Using the senses is all about trying to give your readers a way to really experience your characters and the world they are living in.
• https://rachelpoli.com/2017/08/14/how-to-use-the-5-senses-in-creative-writing/ – How to Use the 5 Senses in Creative Writing: This is a great, down to earth, article about using the senses in your writing. The examples are great and I loved the explanation on whether or not we should use all 5 senses all the time. The section on how to weave the 5 senses into your story is excellent and the examples really help to show you what the author is talking about. It’s a quick read, but with a great explanation of this topic.
• https://thewritepractice.com/five-senses-in-writing/ – How to Unlock All Five Senses in Your Writing: This article discusses the five senses and how to write using them. There are some exercises included with the article to help you get in some practice and once you’ve read through how to use each of the senses the exercises will help you hone your skills.
• https://ryanrcampbell.com/2017/09/08/the-five-senses-and-filtering/ – The Five Senses and Filtering: This is a brilliant article, especially the section on filtering which gives you some great examples of how to use each of the sentences without telling. Instead of saying she heard, she felt, she tasted, there are examples of how to show each of these senses while engaging your readers. Again, each of the senses are covered in the article which some great tips on how to use them in your writing.
• https://www.writerswrite.co.za/the-power-of-the-5-senses-in-stories/ – The Power of the 5 Senses in Stories: Using the senses in writing is a great way to show and not tell and this article looks at ways in which you can do this. There’s a great exercise right at the start followed by some extra sensory information that you can make use of in your writing. The article ends with three writing exercises for using the 5 senses.
• https://richiebilling.com/writing-tips/using-the-5-senses-in-writing – Great Examples of The 5 Senses in Writing: The final link for this week and this topic is examples of using the five senses. This article has a number of sections including an explanation of the five sensory organs, then the five senses. An example from Great Expectations is used for sight. For touch, there a great exercise you can do. The Smell section includes a great example from Joyce’s Ulysses. There’s a 5 senses writing checklist and a section on how to use the five senses in writing with some great exercises for you to try. The article ends with a huge list of adjectives for the 5 senses that I’m sure you’ll find useful.

I hope you’ve enjoyed all the links this week and are getting ready to practice all the advice given. If there is a topic you’d like to see me cover, all you need to do is get in touch with me via any of my social media links.

(c) Amanda J Evans

www.amandajevans.com , Facebook and Twitter : @amandajevans

About the author

Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author of YA and Adult romance in paranormal and fantasy genres. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her latest novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda has been featured in a number of poetry anthologies in 2017 and 2018 including A Bowl of Irish Stew, a charity anthology for Pieta House and her short story Moonlight Magic was included in the Owl Hollow Press Anthology, Under the Full Moon’s Light, published in October 2018. Amanda is currently polishing her novel, Winterland, which will be submitted to agents and publishers in 2019, and is also working on a Bronte inspired story for an anthology due for publication in 2020. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012. You can find out more on her website www.amandajevans.com, Facebook and Twitter: @amandajevans

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Home — Essay Samples — Geography & Travel — Paris — My Travelling Experience

My Travelling Experience

• Categories: Paris

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Published: Nov 8, 2019

Words: 1061 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

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Writers: How to Engage the Five Senses

Writers, have you ever received a critique saying that your story wasn’t immersive enough? Have you ever heard, “Show, don’t tell?” Have you ever struggled to convey your story’s setting in a way that doesn’t devolve into paragraph upon paragraph of dry exposition?

And readers, have you ever read a scene that felt like talking heads in a white room, with nothing to paint a picture of the surroundings? Have you ever felt detached from the main character, like you’ve become an outside observer instead of being welcomed into the character’s deepest thoughts and feelings?

If you said yes to any of those questions, I’ve got a technique that will help you!

The writers among us, that is. The only help the readers will receive is an understanding of one reason why they may not click with a story. Sorry, guys.

Before you roll your eyes and tell me, “Yes, yes, we learned this in kindergarten,” hear me out. Your story is lush and alive and teeming with creativity . . . in your mind. The challenge of writing is to transfer that vision to the page. It’s harder than it looks. You have a living movie reeling through your thoughts, but the page? The page is blank until you start putting that movie into words.

So how do we transform lifeless prose and blank white rooms into that Technicolor movie in our heads?

Engage the senses.

Sight. Sound. Smell. Taste. Touch.

When you draw on all of them, your setting–and more importantly, your character’s experiences within the setting–will come alive.

You may find yourself leaning on one or two of the five senses and neglecting the others.  I depend most heavily on sight, as do most writers, I suspect. My default is to describe what the setting looks like. Perhaps that is the most important sense most of the time. After all, if the reader cannot picture what a place looks like, it’s very difficult to choreograph action or ground a scene.

When dispensers of writing advice admonish you to show, not tell , what they often mean is that instead of cruising over the landscape with a cursory “he did this and she felt that,” you should dive deep into the sensory experience.

Here are a few examples, some from my own writing, others from published books I’ve read.

Norwood stood at his dented and stained herb table , the backdrop of his curio cabinet displaying rows of green-hued bottles and jars , most of which held some sort of powder, paste, or plant . [Fawkes, Nadine Brandes)

These little details–the dented table, green bottles, powders and pastes–are potent enough to create an entire aesthetic for the room.

Low, rumbly voices filtered through the undergrowth, too muffled to make out the words. [The Brightest Thread]

In one sentence we know there are multiple speakers, they are some distance away, and they are either male or monstrous. (Correct answer: they’re ogres.)

The yellow flags above me snap sharp and loud in the breeze as if to emphasize my owner’s words that yes, she’s quite aware such a high count is utterly ridiculous. [Storm Siren, Mary Weber]

“Snap” is a punchy verb bolstered by the two adjectives “sharp” and “loud,” which together call to mind exactly the sound you’re supposed to hear.

The warm scents of buttered loaves and seasoned roasts were all that was left of the feast. [The Brightest Thread]

Is your mouth watering yet?

Moist air wafted past my nose, carrying the odor of a brewery–malt and hops . [Reapers, Bryan Davis]

In this scene, we’re getting a sense of where the protagonist lives, and the smell of a brewery adds a unique detail.

The odor of fish mixed with the scent of roses, berries, fresh bread. Blood from the slaughter stall constricted my throat. [Fawkes, Nadine Brandes]

Ah, nothing like the blend of aromas from a seventeenth century London marketplace, am I right?

Mmm, now I’m hungry for berries . . .

(Oddly enough, I had a terribly hard time finding more good examples for this sense. It seems that the mere mention of food is often enough to conjure an idea of its taste. Other tastes often found in the books I read are blood, alcohol, salt, medicine, etc.*)

*Sounds like I read fantasy. *wink*

Aleida jumped off the log and stumbled on unsteady feet. Her skin buzzed with the aftermath of magic. [The Brightest Thread]

We all know how it feels to stumble or feel unsteady. We also get a sense of electricity with the word buzzed .

Thorns scratched her ankles and tree limbs whipped past her face. [The Brightest Thread]

Rather than just knowing the character is running through a forest, we feel the scratches of thorns and branches reaching out to block her way.

Prickly vibrations raced along my cloak from the baggy sleeves to the top of the hood, tickling the two-day stubble across my cheeks and chin. [Reapers, Bryan Davis]

Here a sensation is woven into the book’s first clues about who the protagonist is (a male wearing a cloak).

All Together Now!

Now that we’ve seen the five senses in action, let’s see what it looks like when multiple senses are used together.

The only explicitly referenced senses are hearing (birdsong) and touch (poking her slippers, stretching her legs). But notice how other senses are implied? You might have pictured the forest, since branches, rocks, and pine needles are mentioned (sight). You may have even assumed the temperature (touch again) or imagined the scent of forest air (smell).

In well-written description it’s not the quantity of senses used, but the quality that depicts the mood.

The important thing isn’t to reel out a grocery list of sensory inputs every time your character walks onto a new scene. It’s to use whichever senses are most important at the moment and let the reader’s imagination fill in the gaps.

And that, my writer friends, is one way to immerse your reader in every scene you write! It’s not the only tool by any means, but it certainly goes a long way in painting a vivid picture that lives and moves and breathes.

Assignment #1: If you’re looking to practice this method, try reading a chapter of your current work-in-progress and highlighting every sensory description. See which senses you use most often. Consider which senses are underused. Look for places you haven’t described any senses at all. Then dive in and make some changes!

Assignment #2: Crack open a favorite book and page to your favorite chapter. On a separate piece of paper, make two columns. In the first, list all the senses that the author explicitly describes. In the second, list all the extra, unwritten senses you imagine as you read. Have fun!

19 Comments

This was so incredibly helpful! I find that I never describe ANYTHING in my books, so this post was exactly what I needed!

I'm so glad it was helpful, Nicole! That was my goal! <3

I love when books use the five senses. I needed the reminder for my own writing too. You showcased all of the senses so well in 'The Brightest Thread.'

Same! Awww, thank you, Skye. It was so fun to share that story with you. *all the hugs*

Oh my goodness, this post came at SUCH a good time! Because I'm getting geared to write for NaNo, and I was literally thinking JUST yesterday or the day before how I need to really engage the five senses while writing. I've been trying to do some worldbuilding and thinking about how things feel, not just look. Because I FAIL at that and I want to do better with this book. I can describe what you see, but so, so often forget to incorporate smells and temperatures and tastes and all that good stuff. So I find it crazy that you post this right when I've been pondering this very thing! It was perfect!

Your examples were fantastic (THE BRIGHTEST THREEEAD! <3333). It really helps showcase how to use each sense. And I love how you pointed out that we don't have to EXPLICITLY mention every single thing. Just the mere mention of a wood fire can often bring up the correct smells for the reader. It's all in the balance!

Thank you so, so much for this! Definitely something I need to work on when writing!

OH. And your gif usage was perfection. XD

Really?! Perfect coincidence! 😀 (I'm ridiculously excited about your NaNo project, by the way, even though I'm still catching up on your blog posts about it.) Anyway, I'm happy this came at such a good time!

Awww, you. <333 Some senses were harder to find snippets of (wow, grammar), especially taste and smell. Yes, you said it–even a strong visual description can hint at other senses as well, or vice versa!

Hahaha, thank you. The taste gif is my fav. XD

Ohh, this was SO helpful. Thank you so much!! I am currently working on revising my WIP and am looking foreward to implementing some of these tips.

Hooray! I'm glad it came while you're revising–some of these tips are a lot easier to implement when you're sniffing down your mistakes instead of drafting a new story. Have fun! 😀

TRACEYYYY THIS IS THE BESTEST POST EVERRRR <333

Honestly, description is something I've been trying (but failing XD) to figure out for years, so aaaaah THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST, GIRL!

Also, I'M SO GLAD YOU INCLUDED SNIPPETS FROM THE BRIGHTEST THREAD . Because The Brightest Thread = storytelling goals. <333

P.S. That last gif is so perfect! XD

P.P.S. I MUST TRY THESE ASSIGNMENTSSSS. They're definitely something I want to do now, but they also sound super helpful for editing! 😀

Liv // livkfisher.blogspot.com

EEEEK, THAT MAKES ME HAPPY. <3

I used to be the same way, but now I tend to have the OPPOSITE problem, in that I slip into purple prose sometimes. XD Anyway, I'm glad this was helpful!

LIVVVV. YOU SWEET PERSON. ^__^ I loved having you as a beta.

P.S. A Tangled gif is never out of place. 😉 P.P.S. Let me know how they work out!

Your choice of gifs is quite excellent.

I went through the whole 'show not tell' crisis last year, but it's difficult at times to absorb and apply certain information until someone shows it in your own writing.

Why thank you. *bows*

Examples are so helpful, I agree! A lot of writing techniques didn't really click for me until I received critiques. 🙂

I love this post! I find that I rely on sight a lot, especially colours, as I love how they can set the mood. I also tend to use smell a lot. 🙂 Your examples were great, you're wonderful at description! 😀

Awesome! I'm a big fan of mood-setting colors too, so I totally understand the dependence. 😉 Awww, thank you, Melissa! <3 Have fun beefing up your descriptions!

THANK YOU FOR THIS TRACEY. 😀 This is a big struggle of mine. I'm always trying to write vivid descriptions that will transport people into the story, but they always end up…well, really boring. 😛 I really need to use all the senses! I think I'll give that first assignment a try! ^_^

Yayyy, I'm so GLAD! Not that it's a struggle, but that the post is useful. XD I hope you have fun with the assignment–let me know if you learn something! <3

I like your examples! Taste is always the hardest for me to incorporate. XD

It was also the hardest one to find a good example for, so you're apparently not alone. XD

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Essay on Importance of Sense Organs

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• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

The Importance of 5 Senses: Essay Introduction

• The differences between Night Terrors and Nightmares

Types of behaviors occur during stage four NREM

Personality development, electrical shock and human beings.

The knowledge that human beings need to understand the operations of the outside world depends on their modes of sensitivity. As such, the human sensory organs are categorized into vision, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The sense organs are made of specialized cellular configurations that accept specific stimuli. The senses are all critical in the functioning of human receptions to stimuli.

However, the measure of importance of every sense organ differs. In this regard, the sight is the most imperative sensory organs followed by hearing. Touch comes in thereafter since it also plays a critical role in determining the effects of soreness as well as necessitation of therapeutic attention. Further, scent and flavor verify the availability of aroma in food and the sweet, acerbic, astringent as well as saline flavors respectively.

The extent of the eye sensitivity is extraordinary. On this note, the eyes play fundamental roles in providing individuals with opportunity of viewing all the physical features of the ecosystem. In essence, the functions of the eye surpass the roles of other intelligences. The sight is instrumental in relaying data on the daily life occurrences to the body.

Doubtlessly, many people recognize that in almost every activity carried out by individual be it reading, watching, inscribing correspondences among other countless functions. In addition, the sight plays a vital function in enabling the survival of people in the environment since they are able to see the dangers and run into safety. Further, studies show that many individuals dread amaurosis than other disabilities.

Perception of sound is fundamental role in individual aptitudes and amusements such as music and verbal communication. In the modern society, verbal communication is attributed to the intelligence of listening. Even though there has been development of visual communication means such as typing, many people use the language of listening

Actually, the sense of hearing enables the collection, progression as well as inferring the reverberations continuously with unconscious exertions. On this note, the sense of hearing should not be taken for granted. The growth and quality of an individual’s life originate primarily from the listening capability.

As such, communication is possible through listening to others. In addition, through hearing, an individual is capable of receiving admonitions about hazardous situations and deal with such life challenges,

The sense of contact is essential in becoming aware of the diverse surfaces as well as temperatures. In essence, the skin through its sensory receptors is significant in the detection of different sensations ranging from soreness to pulsations. Therefore, the sense of touch is vital in circumventing the bodily harms acquired through the daily links with the surroundings.

The sense of smell is fundamental in creating an environment where animals are capable of tracking their food as well as finding their mates. However, many individuals pay little attention to smell since it has insignificant effects on the operations of individuals.

For instance, there are people who do not love the scent emanating from garbage, pollution and sewage. On the same note, pregnant women are allergic to certain smells that make them sick. On the contrary, there are people who love the scent of flowers and cooking. Therefore, one would leave without the sense of smell.

Just like other senses, taste plays a significant role in the provision of body nourishment through prompting the salivary glands and the digestive juices. However, doing without the sense of taste is ideal for eliminating obesity since the individuals would lose the appetite for tasting food regularly. Further, lack of the sense of taste is inconsequential since flavor enhancers such as monosodium glutamate have been developed to counterbalance the predicament.

The differences between “Night Terrors” and “Nightmares”

Nightmares and night terrors are frightening happenings that occur at different stages of the sleep cycle exhibiting dissimilar signs. Just to begin with, nightmares are horrid imaginations that occur during the REM phase of sleep. In addition, the occurrence comes about because of stress, illness, eating before going to sleep as well as dozing in uncomfortable pose.

The nightmares are rampant in older children above five years. The nightmares scare the person experiencing the dream. Further, an individual is able to memorize the occurrence of the nightmare since it occurs in the REM sleep that has its longest periods during the early morning hours. In essence, the nightmares are mostly experienced during the dawn hours.

On the contrary, night terrors are horrible occurrences that take place during the non-REM sleep cycle. In other words, the night terrors are common and are experienced during the first hours of slumber. Night terrors are characterized by screaming, sweating and staring in the dead of the night.

In addition, the individuals experiencing the night terrors are unable to remember the particulars of the night fright. In essence, the behaviors emanating from night terrors scare the people who witness the occurrence. Moreover, night terrors are common in children between the ages of two to six years. The causes of night terrors range from sleep deficiency to inconsistent sleep programs.

The stage four of non-rapid eye movement is a slow-wave phase of sleep characterized by intense deep sleep. In this stage, the body tissues are repaired and rejuvenated. In addition, the bones and the body muscles as well as resistance systems are strengthened. Further, shorter periods of slumber are experienced by the older generations.

Personality development is a continuous process involving the accumulation of an individual’s life pronouncements that lead to the progress of individuality. As such, aspects of genetics as well as environmental influence the way individual personality grows. However, hereditary factors play a greater role concerning the development of individuality.

Just to start with, the initial development of a person begins from the exchanges of sperm and ova that contain the inherent make-ups necessary for life development. In other words, the genes contain the instructions that dictate the advancement of personality. For example, through genetic interactions, the genes compete for dominance and as a result affect development of individual.

Further, traits such as height, shyness, temperament, and love for adventure as well as intellectual advancement are affected by the hereditary characteristics from parents. Worth noting, genetic abnormalities such as the Down syndrome have the effect hearing and heart defects as well as intellectual impairments. Clearly, hereditary attributes greatly manipulates personal development compared to the environmental traits.

The possibility that loud, steady noise-like the hum of the city increasing the chances of developing a mental illness and Physical health problems like a heart attack. Loud noise has adverse effects to an individual’s healthiness as well as welfare. In other words, ensuring an environment that does not pose threats to the well-being of individuals ensures domestic tranquility.

Increased noise pollution has the effect of initiating poor physiologic as well as mental performance in fit individuals. For instance, continuous noise interrupts sleep. Further, noise exposes people to increased vasoconstrictions and changes in the rate of body movements. The incessant noise has negative effects on the sensitive groups such as the elderly leading to mental disorientations.

Further, the loud sounds trigger the hormonal and nervous reactions that initiate increases in the heartbeat rate and blood pressure thereby intensifying the peripheral resistance on the cardiac walls. Such occurrences pose the threats of heart attacks.

Giving a deadly electrical shock to another individual has severe physiological effects to the individuals. Therefore, performing the electrical astound to another individual would be detrimental. Just to begin with, the body experiences muscular contractions, unconsciousness as well as the fibrillation of the heart. As a result, the contractions of the muscles initiate complexity in inhalation.

In essence, electric shocks are lethal due to the heat that is produced by the flowing current. As a result, the epidermis is unable to provide the required resistance to the current thereby causing burns to the skins. Another danger associated with electrical shocks is the interruptions in the heartbeats thereby posing the threats of cardiac arrests.

Moreover, the electrical shocks are associated with the irregular responses of the heart muscles that ultimately lead to death. The body damages associated with the burns from severe electrical shocks discharge noxious toxins that eventually lead to loss of life.

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Five Senses of Summer Writers have a trick for pulling readers into a scene. They use three or more senses in their description. (This is a great tip for budding authors, as well.) So, as a main character wanders into a carnival, for instance, she might see the brightly colored lights; hear the calliope music on the merry-go-round; and smell the hot, roasted peanuts. She might also taste cotton candy or feel the worn grip on the roller-coaster car. It's fascinating how effective this little trick is. Watch for it in the next novel you read. When you think about it, isn't it wonderful that God has gifted us with so many senses? How much poorer our experiences would be if we only had one - if we could see the ocean but not hear the waves or smell the salt air. Much of what we experience we don't notice. You might remember what you ate for dinner last night, but can you remember how it tasted? It's easy to rush through each day without really living it. But part of thankfulness, I believe, is learning to savor the gifts that are given to us. With that in mind, I recently asked my family to give me examples of great sensations of summer. Here's what they came up with: short grass, empty schools, fireflies and fireworks. crickets, marching bands, the hum of fans, and the slap of flip-flops. : sun screen, barbecue, wood-smoke, and the ocean. : fresh corn, grilled food, salt water and honeysuckle. : sand, a hot breeze, grass under bare feet, and bee stings. Try the same with your kids. Write down their suggestions. Then use it as a “wish list” and try to experience as many as possible - except, of course, the bee stings. And if they can't think of many, don't worry. They'll have a whole summer of sensations to sample. Bruce Van Patter back to main list all material ©2006 Bruce Van Patter 382 IMAGES Essay on Travel Experience [200, 500 Words] With PDF Travel Essay Travelling Experience Essay Example (300 Words) My Travel Experience Descriptive Essay About A Place Using The Five Sens : Tips to Use Your The Descriptive Essay Used Details That Incorporates the Five Senses VIDEO Essay on The Tourist Place I Like Most and Why/150 words/My Favourite Place/The Tourist Place I like Why Travel? Importance of Travelling Essay Can you do the actions to our "Five Senses" song Ways you can recreate the positive feelings from traveling: My 2 Cents Three life lessons from traveling the world COMMENTS Mindful Travel Made Simple: Using Your 5 Senses One of the most effective and easiest ways to cultivate mindfulness while traveling is by grounding yourself in your senses. When you fully engage with what you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, you naturally become more mindful, anchored in the present. 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They are our primary source of knowledge about the world. Therefore, writing which incorporates vivid, sensory detail is more likely to engage and affect the reader. The following writing sample uses sensory detail to create concrete images. Incorporating the Five Senses in Your Writing Let's go further, using all five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. The combo plate included four enchiladas and a taco. The combination enchilada plate at Carmelita's was generous enough to feed four hungry lumberjacks. The food smelled good. As the server set the fragrant offering before me, the chile relleno's spicy aroma ... Essay on Travel Experience [200, 500 Words] With PDF Essay on Travel Experience in 200 words. We travel to get away from the monotony of our daily lives. It's a refreshing diversion from the monotony of everyday life. It allows our minds to relax and gives our inner child the opportunity to play. Some trip memories are nostalgic and melancholy, while others are daring and exhilarating. Using Sensory Details in Descriptive Writing 1) Discuss the Five Senses. Our five senses help us experience the world around us. With your students, work through the following steps to develop words and descriptions using their five senses as a starting point. Talk about sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Collect words from your students that fall within each category. Sensory Details Examples And Language In Writing Here are some examples of sensory language for each sense: Sight: "The sun was a fiery orb, casting a warm golden glow on the fields.". Sound: "The symphony of birdsong filled the air, a melodic harmony of tweets and trills.". Touch: "The cool marble floor numbed her feet and sent shivers up her spine as she walked.". How to Use All 5 Senses When You Travel After seeing, tasting is the next most obvious sense to use on your travels. But many of us, including me, don't always do this very well. In fact, I think using your sense of taste to experience a new culture is a skill you really have to practice. As well as getting yourself accustomed to tastes that you don't usually find at home, for ... How To Use Your Five Senses When Writing: Really Useful Links by Amanda Amanda J Evans. 18 February 2021. In this week's column, the focus is on how to use your five senses when writing fiction. Uses the senses helps to bring description and scenes to life on the page and pull the reader into your story. The links I've chosen include tips and advise on how to effectively use the five senses to bring your ... My Travelling Experience: [Essay Example], 1061 words While visiting a new and foreign country, the culture and atmosphere is unfamiliar to me and if I am open to new perspectives, it can make my visit a better experience. As with companies, they also face challenges which makes it difficult for them to develop effective global managers. "The answers are as complex as the world's geographies. PDF Descriptive Writing and the Five Senses 5. The Sense of Touch. Like all five of the senses, the sense of touch can be painful or pleasurable. Make it pleasurable, like the feel of cool cotton sheets, and the readers will experience the pleasure along with the character. Make it painful, like being head butted in the nose, and the readers will wince. Writers: How to Engage the Five Senses Assignment #2: Crack open a favorite book and page to your favorite chapter. On a separate piece of paper, make two columns. In the first, list all the senses that the author explicitly describes. In the second, list all the extra, unwritten senses you imagine as you read. Have fun! 5 Senses in Order of Importance The Importance of 5 Senses: Essay Introduction. The knowledge that human beings need to understand the operations of the outside world depends on their modes of sensitivity. As such, the human sensory organs are categorized into vision, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The sense organs are made of specialized cellular configurations that accept ... PDF Teen Writer! Descriptive Writing & The Five Senses Remember: Five, four, three, two, one . . . Write! References to all five senses complete the description of your story's setting, so the next time you take a walk, take a writing pad, too, and make this "five senses" exercise part of your creative writing work-out! Learn more about Teen Writer! and other Luminari camps for teens at Writing with Your Five Senses Using scent in conjunction with foods your characters come across can create a rich reader experience. Combining All the Senses. Used in combination, senses can make a reader feel like they are there with the character. But don't try to use all senses all at once or even every time you describe something. essays: The Five Senses of Summer With that in mind, I recently asked my family to give me examples of great sensations of summer. Here's what they came up with: Sights: short grass, empty schools, fireflies and fireworks. Sounds: crickets, marching bands, the hum of fans, and the slap of flip-flops. Smells: sun screen, barbecue, wood-smoke, and the ocean. essay homework paper phd review speech study thesis