HOW THE FIVE SENSES DEEPEN THE READING EXPERIENCE

** HOW THE FIVE SENSES DEEPEN THE READING EXPERIENCE**

By Lynn Bohart Author, Freelance writer, Story Coach www.lynnbohart-author.com

One of the things I remember most about reading Stephen King’s "Salem’s Lot" was his use of the five senses, especially smell. As a reader, he put the vampire’s body inside that decaying coffin right in front of me and forced me to smell it, whether I wanted to or not.

That’s what effective use of the five senses, or sensory language, can do when you’re writing fiction; bring the reader into the story. Unfortunately, many writers forget about using the five senses altogether. It’s easy to do. After all, authors are first and foremost concerned with getting the storyline, conflict, and characterizations correct. But going back and revising descriptions or character reactions to include the sense of touch, smell, sight, sound, or taste will deepen the reader’s experience.

For instance, describing what a character sees helps to ground the reader, while also telling them whether the character is safe or in peril. Adding sound or even smell to that scene will intensify whatever is happening. Consider this sentence from the fourth book in my Old Maids series "All Roads Lead to Murder":

   The full moon filtered through the branches giving them enough light to pass safely, but the boys began to
   grunt and groan as their bare feet encountered sharp stones and briars.

The visual of how the moon filters through the branches is fine, but by adding a sense of touch, the reader is drawn into the story itself when they share the characters’ pain at walking barefoot through the forest.

Using sensory language is also a great way to establish mood without merely ‘telling’ the reader what the character is feeling. Here’s how I did it in the opening chapter of "Grave Doubts":

  On warm days after a rain, like today, the afternoon sun lifted the putrid aroma of mildew off the ground like
  steam. It was all so depressing to Lee. Even the surrounding wrought-iron fence made the rows of blackened 
  headstones appear as if they’d been herded onto this tree-covered butte and held hostage. Add to that the 
  tawdry display of aging plastic flowers splashed across the rolling hillsides, and it was no wonder cemeteries 
  found their way into so many bad Hollywood horror movies.

The lead character, Lee Vanderhaven, hates cemeteries. But I didn’t have to tell you that because the entire paragraph reeks of her depression at just being there.

Authors should consider the five senses as a tool that will bring their fictional world to life. Even the simple sound of a chair scraping across a floor brings the reader into the room. A certain smell can transcend time. The sense of touch is so immediate, it can startle the reader and wake them up. Sound can telegraph danger and set the mood. And because taste is such a visceral sense, it can trigger an immediate reaction or a memory. Here’s Julia’s reaction to approaching a homeless camp in "No Place Like Home for a Murder":

 By the time we reached the underside of the bridge, I could almost taste the smell of unwashed bodies, rotting 

food, and human waste.

The best way to get started using sensory language in your writing is to pay attention to the five senses in your own life and your reaction to them. Keep a log and then begin to embellish your scenes in a way that pulls the reader right into the story with you.

Copyright © 2025 Lynn Bohart All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations for the use of reviews or promo-tional articles approved by the author. Published by Little Dog Communications