Using Senses to Increase Emotion

As writers, our goal is to not only tell a story, but make the reader feel like they are a part of it. You want your readers to be feeling the joy, the sorrow, the giddiness, everything your characters are experiencing. One way we do this is by using the five senses.

The five senses are effective because they are what we all experience. When we smell garbage we immediately get a sense of disgust and want to flee. When we pet a fluffy animal we may smile or coo and we feel warm inside. What we see or touch or smell or taste affects how we feel and perceive things.

We can use this strategically in our writing. Think about what emotion you’re trying to channel. Is it joy? Suspense? Disgust? Sadness? Now, think about the environment around them: think about the characters, objects, location, etc. How can you incorporate one of the five senses in your description to evoke the emotion you want?

When writing a romantic scene you may describe how beautiful the love interest is in the main character’s eyes. You might describe the beautiful scenery around the pair. You might describe the softness of their skin or taste of their lips.

In horror, you might describe the flowing pool of blood around a body, or the smell of a rotting corpse. You would pick the most grotesque description for a monster and give them a very un-human-like appearance to make them unsettling.

But be cautious. Only use what is relevant to the scene and mood you are trying to create. Anything that doesn’t fit the mood may become a distraction and pull your reader from your story. The sights and smells and tastes are not always relevant. This is particularly the case with over-writers (looking at you, Kamryn) and describing every little thing. Unless it’s relevant, try to build enough of a picture to keep the mood and give the reader something to imagine, but the readers are more than capable of filling in the gaps. In fact, it’s more fun to have the pieces and fill it in ourselves than to be told every little detail.

When we are told where each chair and every little detail about all of the characters, we are increasing the chance that the reader will just skim over that paragraph, or worse, stop reading entirely. With a character's appearance, stick to relevant details or something notable like scars or defining features that make that character who they are. A love interest is going to get a lot more description solely because they are going to be stared at more than the other characters and are going to be more of a focus.

We here at Write Off the Rails like to make a lot of references to Avatar the Last Airbender, because they do a lot of GREAT storytelling. Zuko’s scar is a defining feature. It not only makes him stand out from the crowd but also tells a story of his past and defines his motives, even if he changes as a person. In ACOMAF (if you know, you know) Sarah J. Maas uses very mystical and charming descriptions to show the beauty of Velaris so that you are just as enraptured as Feyre. In The Savior’s Champion, Jenna Moreci uses very graphic descriptions of core and violence to communicate emotion. The very first death is absolutely brutal and horrifically descriptive, making you feel almost queasy. She does not hold back at all and it’s very powerful.

Think about what makes you immersed in a story. What are some of your favorites? How does that author uses the senses to engage you in storytelling? Because I’m willing to bet some of your favorite scenes heavily on senses and you were too immersed to tell. That is what you want to try and create for your own stories. So think it out, see what you can use to enhance the emotion you’re trying to create. Always, always, go back to your favorites, particularly in the genre and category you are writing under.

What are some of your favorites? Is there any sense you struggle to use ( and is it smell??) let us know in the comments and I’ll see you next time! Write on!