Utilizing the Five Senses in Storytelling

One of the biggest traps writers fall into is using strictly visual descriptions, says author and technical writer Neil V. Young. Instead of describing a scene using all five senses – sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch – many writers end up only sharing what can be seen, and sometimes heard, by a character. To totally immerse a reader, Young says a writer must try to tap into all five senses. He finds taste to be the most difficult sense to write about, because many times, characters aren’t eating...