Regardless of what you are writing, but especially when writing fiction, your writing will be richer with a judicious use of sensual description. We use all our senses to navigate life, so adding words and phrases that relate sensory perceptions gives greater texture, depth and ultimately realism to your writing.
I really noticed this several years ago when a character I was reading slipped between “crisp, cool linens”. I caught myself stopping to enjoy that feeling. I also notice it when an author takes the time to make me aware not only of the objects in a setting, but how the characters sensually relate to the setting.
As your characters move through your work, be aware of the things they smell, touch, taste, hear and see.
The Whole Setting
Since sight is the most used sense for most of us, you may feel that you are, of course describing the surroundings. However, you might want to look at the settings in your mind’s eye and see if there are details that you could mention, for example the slightly wilting and lonely flower on the table in the diner, the elderly couple sitting in the corner, or the worn linoleum floor that has seen better decades.
Small details like those can help set the mood of the action or reflect the mindset of the character. In any case, they can make the setting more real for your readers. Take the time to take a hard look at the details of the scene in your mind. Share the parts of it that will bring your readers into the scene without overloading them.
The Sensual Description of Smell
Smell is the sense most tied to memory for most people. We can relate to it. It carries us to a similar time, place or feeling. It is easy to evoke emotional reactions in the readers by describing scents that they would relate to. I once knew a man who always wore Old Spice cologne because, he said, “every woman has at least one man she trusts who wears Old Spice”.
Some writers use a smell like a character in their work. Others use it to describe characters, almost as a character trait.
Tasty Descriptions
If there is a reason for your characters to eat food, there is an opportunity for a taste description.
Some cozy mystery writers are very good at sensual descriptions, especially when describing food. A ‘Romaine Salad’ becomes a ‘crisp, green Romaine salad dressed in a velvety anchovy-tinged Caesar with plump, crimson grape tomatoes that explode in the mouth’.
The Sensual Description of Sounds
Adding sounds gives another usually subtle realism to a sett description. In writing, we don’t have the advantage of a sound track (think the theme from Jaws) to indicate a tone, but sounds can help define a tone or mood while inviting the reader into a believable, experiential place or feeling.
The Wonderful World of Touch
In my opinion, sensual description is easiest with the sense of touch. Next to vision, touch is the sense of which most of us are consciously aware. Is the fabric soft, her hand cold, the coffee steaming? Is the room warm, is the floor hard, the ropes on his wrist rough? Even though we tend to be consciously aware of these things, they don’t always make it into our writing.
Moderation Using Sensual Description
As with all things, moderation is important. You don’t want to stop the story progress getting stuck in description, but judicious use of sensual description can bring realism to your settings, characters and actions and invite your readers into the world in your mind’s eye.