-
M.J. Evans
a book bubble about
The Stone of Integrity
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
Using the Five Senses in Your Writing
I have a little sticky note placed on my computer. It has five words written on it: Smell, Sight, Sound, Touch, Taste. This reminds me to use all of the senses in my writing to make the story come alive for my readers. In the excerpt included, there is no mistaking this scene with an ocean journey or a sojourn across a desert. You know they are in a jungle even if I hadn't named it. You can feel it, smell it, hear it, not just see it! I also had fun using personification and metaphor in this excerpt. Can you find these two literary techniques?
Book Excerpt
The Stone of Integrity
The jungle was extremely dense, and it did everything it could to be uncooperative. Pushing, tugging, and crawling, the explorers struggled to work their way inland. Wet leaves dripped on their heads and backs. Vines curled around their legs and gripped their ankles. Green, red, and yellow parrots swooped overhead, calling out in loud squawks. Monkeys leaped from branch to branch, scolding them with chattering sounds and clicking teeth. Steam rose from the moist ground, stinging their eyes, as the smell of rotting foliage and over-ripe fruit stung their noses. They worked their way around tall tabonuco trees whose pungent, oozing, white resin stuck to their clothing. Dense clusters of bamboo formed wooden fences without gates, stopping them in their tracks and forcing them to find new routes.
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Kobo
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.