How to Use Sensory Details in Fiction
The five basic senses are powerful tools for writers.
They're how readers experience stories instead of just reading about them.
They're the secret to showing, not telling.
These are a few ways you can wield them like an expert and improve any story.
Visual descriptions can have layers that describe your protagonist's world while telling the reader about more than what your character can see. Here's an example:
Example: Rain fell outside her window.
Revision Example: Rain fell outside her window in heavy sheets of droplets that hid the world past her porch.
In the revision, it's easier to see how hard it's raining. The difference sets a unique tone. Maybe the sun is setting and it's the protagonist's first time home alone, so not being able to see the street in front of her house makes her nervous. Maybe she loves that rain because she wants to hide from the world. It depends on the story.
Descriptions can also add emotional weight or understanding via:
Adjectives ("angry" sheets of rain; "comforting" shower of droplets on her roof)
Personification (making the rain "angry" gives it a personality/emotional intention)
By all means, every visual description shouldn't be this wordy. Your readers will get overwhelmed, bored, or annoyed. But restructuring visual descriptions here and there will add depth to your storytelling that your manuscript might lack.
What your character hears can also strengthen your story. Think about what a scene calls for. Should your character feel some kind of tension? Do they need to relax? Add that into your manuscript via sound.
Example: Their foreheads pressed together, Marcus said, "I adore you."
Revision Example: Their foreheads pressed together, Marcus whispered the words Henry's heart ached to hear. They slipped past his lips, soft and hesitant. "I adore you."
Using auditory descriptors can make your writing better when you need the reader to feel a specific way about dialogue or something happening around them.
Some other details you can focus on besides the sound of someone's voice:
Environmental sounds (birds calling, trees rustling, the wind, cars on a street, etc.)
Interpreted sounds (what the protagonist thinks they hear happening in another room, etc.)
Emotional sounds (add a line about the fear your protagonist feels when they hear footsteps in the middle of the night or the comfort of a crackling fireplace)
People learn about the world through their sense of taste from the moment they're born. Good flavors create great memories and emotional connections. Tasting something terrible ruins your mood. These things are all important in fiction.
Example: The first sip of morning coffee always takes care of my morning grumpiness.
Revision Example: My morning grumpiness doesn't stand a chance against a cup of my coffee. The amount of sugar and cream I consume in a single cup should probably be outlawed, but a single sip never fails to make my day seem brighter.
Taste can also set your characters apart from the known world. If your character accidentally bites the inside of their lip and scowls at the metallic tang of blood, you know they're unhappy. If the same thing happens and the blood carries a sweetness that makes them want more, you know they're a vampire.
Think about adding factors like:
Emotions/memories/cultural significance of a flavor
The sense of smell may be one of the first ways people understand the world around them. You use it before ever opening your eyes. It sets the tone for a scene and can change the dynamic between two characters.
Example: Their first date was perfect until she hugged him goodbye. He smelled bad.
Revision example: Their first date was everything she'd hoped for until she hugged him goodbye. His sour body odor slammed into her, shattering the idea that he could be her prince charming. Instead, the reeking musk promised a lifetime of reminders to shower and use deodorant. She was not dating to become a grown man's mother.
Smells affect how someone feels, thinks, and responds to others or events. You can also add smell descriptors for things like:
Universal scents any reader can relate to
Scents that affect tension (smoke coming from somewhere in the protagonist's house, something rotting behind a wall, etc.)
People are constantly experiencing life through their sense of touch. Without it, any story or scene will feel like it's missing something crucial.
Example: The kids jumped into the lake that summer afternoon.
Revision example: The kids plunged into the cool lake water to escape the summer heat.
The simple addition of describing the temperature of the lake water gives the characters and reader some relief in a summer story. The reader knows how refreshing it is to swim in cool water when the day is super hot. This description likely changes the character's moods, their outlook on the rest of the day, and the tension caused by environmental factors like stuffy hot air.
You can also write about the sense of touch with:
Physical situations (a soft kiss, a painful punch, a back-cracking hug)
Similes ("The grass was rough beneath his feet, like an unshaven face.")
Inward sensations (a heartbeat, a deep breath, an anxious stomach knotting up)
You'll know you're overdoing it with your sensory descriptions if you have dense paragraphs with extremely long sentences. You may also re-read a chapter/short story and feel like the pacing is too slow due to wordiness.
Sometimes you only need a few words to utilize a character's senses and enhance your story. The best way to find that middle ground is by writing, revising, and reading your work out loud.
With time and patience, your work will shine because you put so much thought into the sensory aspects of your world.
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