1 of 3

Page 2 of 8

forces him to keep reading." The old adage "Show, don't tell" means that you ". . . place [the reader] in the midst of the experience with unfolding action." "Showing requires that the writing be solid, not abstract, and this means that at least one of the senses must be involved to show a specific reality."

Sensation can also be a powerful tool for character development, especially regarding a character's reaction to particular sensations. In fact, sensation may directly stimulate an emotional response. For example, the sight of a puppy may generate a feeling of happiness, while the sight of a maggot or the touch of a spider may stimulate fear or revulsion. Sensation can encourage recollection, which may be useful as a trigger in transitioning to backstory for character development or for stimulating emotion indirectly.

Likewise, a character's reaction to sensations may provide a common thread for the development of one or more of a story's themes. And, of course, how and when sensation is utilized throughout a story and the skill with which sensation is presented are important aspects of an author's unique writing style.

CONVEYING SENSATION. According to Ron Rozelle, "The sensation of what something feels like is used to describe everything from sensual pleasure to pain and torture. It's a wide range, and your readers have actually experienced only some of those feelings. So your job is to either make them recall exactly what it feels like when something occurs in your story or, if they haven't experienced it, what it would feel like if they did."

How do fiction-writers do that? A quick review of dictionary definitions of sensation reveals a mixed bag of terms and phrases such as consciousness, stimulation of the body, mental functioning, bodily feeling, reaction, and perception. Not surprisingly then, the mechanics of effectively conveying sensation are also multifaceted. The variables include:

* Verbs of sensation

* Action verbs

* Modifiers

* Onomatopoeia

* Other word choices

* Comparison

* Symbolism

* Cliches

* Intensity

* Character emotion

* Reader emotion

* Physical reaction

* Hierarchy of senses

* Choice of sensation

* Narrative distance

VERBS OF SENSATION. The basic verbs of sensation are see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. For any particular passage involving a character's perception of the senses, fiction-writers face the choice of whether or not to actually utilize the applicable verb of sensation.

Example using verbs of sensation: Cisco paused at the back door of the

Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Achieving sense perception in fiction writing

1 of 3
by Mike Klaassen

Sensation is the fiction-writing mode for portraying a character's perception of the senses. Authors are often encouraged
read more
2 of 3
by Elton Gahr

Using the five senses in your writing is vital to creating a sense of reality in your stories, but while these are things
read more
3 of 3
by Dr. Deborah Bauers

Writing with the Senses

I. A World without Senses

Imagine trying to tell about the world around you without being able to
read more

Add your voice

Know something about Achieving sense perception in fiction writing?
We want to hear your view. Write_pen Write now!

Writing:

Writing Process

Achieving sense perception in fiction writing

Achieving sense perception in fiction writing

Related Titles:

Helium Debate

Is the use of "Cliff's Notes" academically honest?