This week: Sensory Details Edited by: Jeff  
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You never know what you can do until you try,
and very few try unless they have to."
— C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of the regular editors of the official Noticing Newbies Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site in that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me directly or submit feedback in the comment box at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Sensory Details
When I first started learning how to write screenplays, there was a piece of writing advice that said screenwriters should focus primarily on what can be seen and heard, because those are the only two senses available to a member of the audience in a theater watching the movie. If you spend time in a screenplay including details about the taste, touch, or smell of something, those sensory details are lost on the audience because they can't experience those things for themselves (unless it's being conveyed secondhand through in a visual or aural way, like a character describing it out loud).
One of the benefits of reading — both prose and poetry — is that it invites the reader to use their imagination for all five of their senses! And a writer can just as easily describe what's heard as seen, or what's felt as what's smelled. Taste is a little tougher because, unless your character is specifically ingesting something, they probably aren't going around licking things all the time. 
Another piece of writing advice I discovered when learning to write novels is to try and focus on multiple sensory details every time you're trying to describe something. For example, instead of just writing about what a character sees, write about what they see and hear. Or what they hear and smell. Or better yet, what they see and hear and smell. Adding multiple senses to your description can help create a sense of realism and fullness to the settings you're describing.
Some options for each sense that you might consider mentioning in your story include:
Sight — color, size, shape,
Sound — amplitude, frequency, rhythm, tempo, dissonance, etc.
Smell — fragrant, woody/resinous, fruity, citrus, chemical, mint, musky, fresh, etc.
Taste — sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter, umami, etc.
Touch — rough, smooth, fluffy, sticky, slippery, fuzzy, squishy, coarse, sharp, etc.
In addition to these basics, there are literally hundreds of adjectives and descriptive phrases that can help you paint a vivid picture of your subject matter using sensory details. Don't be shy about giving your readers a full, well-rounded sensory experience of the world you want them to envision.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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Poisoned words pierce the heart, leaving broken spirits in their wake. A soul's lament.
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Noticing Newbies: April 30, 2025 Issue [#13117]
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