Sensory Details in Your Story by Connie Vines

Every writer knows how important sensory details are to a story.
Here is one way to keep track of those details that make your stories come alive for your readers.

Sight (the most utilized sense in writing; don’t forget the others!)

- flash of lights in the night sky
- deep blue of the ocean
- the roads had begun to glisten underneath headlights
- the sun was setting behind low, gray-blue storm clouds
- a heavenly hue to the layers of ice and snow accumulating on rooftops and tree limbs.
- her shadow shaky behind a slight flame stemming from a candle she carried
- sparks lit up the dusk of day
- a blinking red light from the truck’s turn-signal illuminated our darkened home

Sound

- The walls shook and vibrated like the tail of a rattle snake
- Ice crackled and pinged against the family room window
- Wind swirled around our beach house whistling loudly to a terrible tune
- The television buzzed as it shut off, and the furnace sighed one last time before the house
fell silent.
- The cracking of wood splitting punctuated each burst of fire like an exclamation point.
- the sounds of emergency sirens awakened the still roads
- the howling of wind and branches creaking under the weight of ice

Smell

- sweet aroma of baking corn bread
- cinnamon-scented candle
- pungent odor of smoke.
- salty beach air
- rotting leaves and crispness of air

Touch

- We sat still, huddled underneath the quilt
- Car tires gripped the ice with fearful intensity
- The power lines, heavy from the thickness of ice had snapped
- soft tufts of fur
- stick my toes in the warm and grainy sand

Taste

- ice-cold strawberries
- tall, frosted glass of sweet yet bitter lemonade
- salty chips
- juicy tartness of orange
- rancid butter

Think about your life experiences; good and bad..  The places you've lived. Your childhood.

See what you can do to add sensory details to your stories.

Happy Reading and Writing,

Connie 

Join in today's blog hop!  Stop by and see what these other  BLW authors are sharing!

http://yesterrdayrevisitedhere.blogspot.com/

http://mizging.blogspot.com/

http://triciamg.blogspot.com/

The Gothic Romance Chapter of RWA

I'm a member of Romance Writers of America, The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and E.P.I.C., and have found a great deal of support for my writing and help over the years from those organizations and their sub-chapters.  For several years, I was secretary of the Outreach International Chapter of Romance Writers and a judge for both the R.I.T.A.s and the Golden Heart contests.

I also belong to several sub-chapters of RWA including my local chapter, Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers, and a number of online chapters.  The one closest to my heart, since I am the president of the chapter, is the Gothic Romance Writers (GothRom) Chapter.

It has always been a small chapter, We are at different stages in our careers, but we have a common interest: reading, writing, and talking about Gothic novels.

Right now, though, this chapter is in a bit of a bind.  Membership has fallen over the past several years and the chapter is in danger of disbanding.  I would hate to see this happen!  Gothic fiction readers with recognize some of our membership:  Jane Toombs, Elizabeth Peters, Dawn Thompson, and founding member Karen McCullough.  We are in the process of revamping our website to make it friendlier and more useful and hope you get more interesting discussions going via our group loop, twitter, and blog feeds.

But we need a few more members to rejoin or new members to sign up. If you're already a member of Romance Writers of America (the sole criteria for membership), please consider joining or rejoining Gothic Writers and help us get this chapter on firm footing again.  Join here:  http://www.gothrom.net/onlineapp.html.

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Writers Boot Camp 101

It seems to take more and more time for me to finish writing books as of late. I'm distracted by marketing, blogs and setting up an author site on Facebook, along with other ways of networking. Also, I've decided I absolutely need to read fiction, which I had pretty much abandoned for a while in favor of writing and consuming only research material. On my last vacation, I was in relaxation mode, so along with going to DSW, shopping for clothing, and other vices, I read one fiction novel, I almost got through another, and only spent two afternoons writing. It was great to be able to read, but that didn't help me finish my WIP.
Should I have spent more time writing instead of reading?

I know there are speed reading classes, I've taken several--one online, so I should have finished my daily word count seeing there was no travel time involved. Obviously, I wasn't the star pupil because I'm still poking about and polishing that final draft. Maybe I should take the boot camp class for writers I've seen as an extension course at the local college. Or perhaps I'll enlist a friend to brow-beat me into writing faster.  Geeta are you reading this massage?

Or, maybe I just need to resign myself to being a slow (but very exacting) writer.

What about you? Care to share any hints?