Down the Rabbit Hole

Taste and Touch - Intimate Narrators

30-Day Blogging Challenge - Nov 2nd
Do you think taste is an under-utilized sense in writing? Reflect on how taste can be better utilized in your writing to enhance a scene.

I have read and written a fair amount of erotica over the years so, at least in that genre, I feel the most talented authors make deliberate use of all the senses most effectively. Touch and taste are certainly the most tactile and are incredibly important when crafting a story that is sensual in nature. It is certainly easier to describe how something looks or sounds but that is far less intimate than how something tastes or feels, that is a more personal experience.

I published a piece of erotica once that was completely devoid of any sexual act at all. Instead, it was a tactile journey that involved chocolate body tattoos and rare, rich truffles that tasted both bitter and sweet on the tongue. I used taste and touch very heavily throughout that piece and I hope, to good effect. It remains one of my favorite pieces that I have written in that genre.

Taste and touch are wonderful tools for writers. Some of my favorite authors are masters at invoking them in their work. I have come away from passages in which a dish of food is described so effectively, that I can almost taste the remnants of it myself. Likewise, the feeling of warm sand flowing across the arches of my feet, or the way the autumn wind feels on my bare shoulders are the kind of sensations writers can use to transport you into the moment, into the space of their stories.