Workshop: An Introduction to Writing for Children and Young Adults
“..when sensory detail is included -readers are pulled into the
scene as they recall their own associations with the experience.” (unknown)
In our early drafts we often write everything
down as it comes to us through our senses. Usually we lean on ordinary words
for basic descriptions. Then we go back through to paint in feelings and
scenery and ambiance. But sometimes we’re still stuck with the ordinary because
it’s so familiar that other thoughts or phrases just won’t come to mind without
sounding artificial or planted.
The key to using strong sensory details is to
connect with the reader—which is extremely important to this age group—especially
from the youngest up. So sometimes the familiar and ordinary can be the more
powerful details. Or we can use them as a link to introduce a wider viewpoint
and vocabulary.
For example, when eating new foods or hearing new sounds the
details help the reader recognize the character as more real as he reacts to
the senses. We often see pictures of toddlers attempting to eat spaghetti and
are covered in sauce. But what about a toddler who doesn’t like to get sticky?
The experience is now not humorous but stressful.
Actually no sensory observation is complete
until the fictional character’s emotional response is included. We need the
essential, specific word choices: salty-sour-sweet-bitter. If it smells bad is
it like a: rotten egg, a sewer, or low tide? However we also need to recognize
that what smells bad to one character may actually be sweet to another. I
discovered that one day when driving with an elderly friend. I smelt something
noxious and worried it was my car. I asked if she could smell it and her reply
was “isn’t it lovely?” Apparently we were smelling sulfur, which to her
reminded her of where she grew up near sulfur springs.
We can’t incorporate every possible sensory
detail but need to choose which reflects best for each scene, whether we are writing fiction or non-fiction. What will create
the mood? Even in a fast moving fight scene we can have character feel the
sweat and taste the blood on his lip.
Action Steps:
1.
One good exercise to try is to
describe an object without saying what it is. Try it out at the dinner table
and see if your family can guess. This helps pull in new sensory details.
2.
Note which vocabulary words made
a connection.
Share: What did you choose? What kind of
response did you get?
Read deep, marcy
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