Muse Food – Touching Tree Bark
Can you ‘feel’ the roughness of this tree’s bark, its indents and lifted pieces? How some of it crumbles against your fingertips?
Describing some of the objects our characters touch is a great way to draw readers deeper into our stories.
That could be the softness of a kitten’s fur, the wear and tear on the hero’s well-worn brown leather jacket, the heat of a sun-warmed boulder the heroine is hiding behind.
Use touch to bring the scene to life.
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Muse Food – Flowers And Other Scents
Can you smell this image?
(grins)
Last week, we talked about sounds and how describing what the hero or heroine hears is so powerful in storytelling.
Scent and the sense of smell is as powerful. Perhaps it is the yumminess of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Or the musk of a leather jacket. Or the sulfur after an explosion.
Draw your readers deeper into your story. Give them a sense of what your character is smelling.
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Muse Food – Bird Song And Other Sounds
(The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this brilliantly colored bird in Mexico.)
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I often wake to the birds singing. It is glorious, a celebration of being alive and of nature.
And it is part of the experience of living in our part of the world. If I set a story here, I might mention the birds singing.
Because the more senses we use in our descriptions, the more engaged and sucked into our worlds our readers usually become.
Take two minutes and listen, truly listen to everything you hear around you.
Note the hum of electricity, the rustle of wind through the leaves, the crunch of stones under the tires of a big truck.
All of this is setting and mentioning one or two of those sounds can add depth and interest to your stories.
(As an aside, I read a study recently that said listening to bird song can help to alleviate depression. So take the time to listen to our little feathered friends. That could increase your happiness!)
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