Comments on: Unforgettable Writing: Use all 5 Senses to Add Emotion

By: Motivation Monday: Finding Other Kinds of Beauty in Your Writing | The Procrastiwriter

Mon, 19 May 2014 10:38:00 +0000

[…] For more great advice about using the 5 senses in your writing, check out Orly Konig Lopez’s post on Writers in the Storm, Unforgettable Writing: Use All 5 Senses to Add Emotion. […]

By: jtzortman

jtzortman — Sat, 17 May 2014 17:41:34 +0000

What a fantastic article this is! Lots of great suggestions in this blog, just as I'm rewriting a manuscript, too. Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions.

By: Writing for the Five Senses - Description on the Run | Ken Hughes

Writing for the Five Senses - Description on the Run | Ken Hughes — Sat, 17 May 2014 15:30:00 +0000

[…] a vital point; advice like Orly Konig-Lopez’s Unforgettable Writing: Use all 5 Senses to Add Emotion show how much it can add to a story. The problem is—who’d have thought?—how that single line […]

By: Ken Hughes

Ken Hughes — Sat, 17 May 2014 15:08:08 +0000

A fine analysis, full of rich examples to inspire us.

Especially, I think description is worth particular attention because it can be the fastest way to impress a reader. Art and back cover text make a promise, but very often what clicks in the reader's head is finding a really wow-worthy image on the first page. And that usually calls for, not one flawless line, but a combination of senses that bring a moment completely to life. It brings the book's chances to life too.

I'm with Kathryn Craft and Susan Stuckey too: besides creating the moment, what gets described DEFINES the moment perfectly. The character's state of mind needs at least as much coloring as the world around her.

For me, the tricky part is covering all these senses in the middle of everything else in writing, because five of anything is a lot to keep track of. I'm working on a couple of posts about organizing the senses as a scene evolves, starting at bit.ly/5SensesBy2. Kate Hodges talked about using at least two senses per scene; mine starts with that.

Does anyone else have ways to decide which senses to mention when?

By: Saturday Summation – 17 May 2014 | It'll All Work Out

Saturday Summation – 17 May 2014 | It'll All Work Out — Sat, 17 May 2014 05:05:35 +0000

[…] Orly Konig-Lopez gave me a timely post in how to use all five senses to convey and boost emotion in our writing. Truly, this is not usually a problematic area for me, except, interestingly, I have a character in a current manuscript who apparently needs to emote more. Regardless, this post has some excellent description and examples for adding in more feeling and passion to our stories. […]

By: Tina Radcliffe

Tina Radcliffe — Sat, 17 May 2014 01:26:59 +0000

What a really well done post!

By: Susan Stuckey

Susan Stuckey — Thu, 15 May 2014 14:23:46 +0000

Lovely post and wonderfuly hints and tips. Absolutely true about including sensory input to engage the reader. The writer needs to also make sure the thoughts/sensory input used fits with both the character AND the situation. Also WHAT they are signalling to the reading audience about the character.

In time of stress both mind and senses narrow rather than broaden. During stress/emotional upset the character is not going to notice non-relevent sensory input unless that input is so "out of place" as to force itself into the character's consciousness so to have them notice something means it is important to them somehow and the reader should understand why.

If the MC describes sand as irridescent crushed pearls (something few would have ever had the opportunity to see) tells the reader that the character is more than rich. If the MC just broke up with a significant other and while driving sees the golden arches and tastes a burger - it becomes a person who turns to food during problems/stress and therefore possibly someone with a weight issue.

The sensory details a character notices defines the character to the reader.

By: ericjbaker

ericjbaker — Thu, 15 May 2014 14:07:51 +0000

These are great reminders. It has taken me a while to develop a five-senses approach, and I think it has become ingrained, at last. The second draft will be my opportunity to really layer those character experiences into the story and bring it to life.

By: Unforgettable Writing: Use all 5 Senses to Add Emotion | Jen's Pen Den

Unforgettable Writing: Use all 5 Senses to Add Emotion | Jen's Pen Den — Thu, 15 May 2014 12:32:03 +0000

[…] the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. In her blog post, Unforgettable Writing: Use all 5 Senses to Add Emotion, she offers great advice on how to “show” your story, rather than “tell” […]

By: Orly Konig-Lopez

Orly Konig-Lopez — Thu, 15 May 2014 11:13:02 +0000

In reply to Ron. N. Sullivan. Thanks, Ron!! :-) The 5 senses are an integral part of our life. And yet, we get so caught up in making our characters squirm that we sometimes forget to make the scenes come alive.