esson Transcript

Instructor: Amy Anderson
The writer's ability to create a gripping and memorable story has much to do with
engaging our five senses. This lesson will teach you how to make your writing pop by
using the five senses.

Sensory Details Definition

Sensory details include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Writers employ the five
senses to engage a reader's interest. If you want your writing to jump off the page,
then bring your reader into the world you are creating. When describing a past event,
try and remember what you saw, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted, then incorporate
that into your writing.

Sensory details are used in any great story, literary or not. Think about your favorite
movie or video game. What types of sounds and images are used? What do your
favorite characters taste, smell, and touch? Without sensory details, stories would fail
to come to life.

When sensory details are used, your readers can personally experience whatever
you're trying to describe, reminding them of their own experiences, giving your
writing a universal feel. A universal quality is conveyed when the writer is able to
personally connect with the readers.

Another note about sensory details: there is no one sense that's more important than
another. It all depends on the scene you're trying to create. However, imagery, the
sight sense, is a common feature in vivid writing.

Examples of Sensory Details

Let's look at sensory details in action. Compare the following two passages describing
a trip to the grocery store.

Here's a passage without sensory details:

'I went to the store and bought some flowers. Then I headed to the meat department.
Later I realized I forgot to buy bread.'

Now, does this pull you in? Of course it doesn't. There's nothing to bring you into the
writer's world. Read this revised version with the addition of sensory details:
'Upon entering the grocery store, I headed directly for the flower department, where I
spotted yellow tulips. As I tenderly rested the tulips in my rusty shopping cart, I
caught a whiff of minty dried eucalyptus, so I added the fragrant forest green bouquet
of eucalyptus to my cart. While heading for the meat department, I smelled the stench
of seafood, which made my appetite disappear. I absently grabbed a bloody red hunk
of NY Strip and tossed it into my cart. Pushing my creaky shopping cart to the
checkout line, I heard an employee announce over the PA that there was a special on
shrimp. On the ride home, I realized I had forgotten to buy the crusty wheat bread I
like so much.'

See how the extra details made the scene come to life? It takes time and effort to
incorporate sensory details, but once you get the hang of it, your writing will pop.

Pay close attention to how sensory details, in particular imagery, contribute to this
passage from Maya Angelou's vividly powerful short story 'My First Life Line.' Here,
Angelou's young narrator (the speaker who tells the story) is describing her
impression of Mrs. Flowers:

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'For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the store, the school and the church, like
an old biscuit, dirty and inedible. Then I met, or rather got to know, the lady who
threw me my first life line. Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps.
She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the
Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around,
cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile
dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. . . Her
skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one
would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let
alone snag her skin. She didn't encourage familiarity. She wore gloves too.'

In this passage, we are introduced to the narrator's 'first life line.' Rather than
Angelou's narrator merely saying Mrs. Flowers seemed glamorous, sensory details are
used throughout the passage to show us how the speaker felt about Mrs. Flowers.

Angelou's description of Mrs. Flowers is enhanced by visual images that include

references such as her 'rich black' skin. These vivid descriptions also include mention
of Mrs. Flowers' 'gloves' and 'flowered hats.' These details show the reader how
glamorous Mrs. Flowers seemed to Angelou's young narrator.

Lesson Summary
Here are some details to remember from this lesson:

Sensory details include sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. Sensory details engage
the reader's interest, and should be incorporated to add more depth to your
writing. Imagery is the sight sense. A narrator is the speaker in a story. Writing
is universal when it can personally connect to readers.

Learning Outcomes
Now that the lesson is over, cement your newfound knowledge:

 Identify what are included in sensory details

 Explain the purpose of sensory details in writing
 Practice using sensory details to enhance your own writing

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