Thursday, May 19, 2016

5 Ways to Write Using the Five Senses—Sight

by Cyle Young @CyleYoung


For the average writer, sight, is typically the easiest of the five senses to describe. Our world is filled with a menagerie of colors, people, plants, animals, buildings, and things. Each of those objects are finite and can be described visually, making sight easy to relate on paper.

But describing the sense of sight doesn’t have to be bland. Take for instance, the picture below.

What do you see?




Most people see a whitewashed glacial landscape void of personality and excitement. Some would describe this as, “snow and ice covered the ground and tall snow-capped peaks stood far off in the distance”.

In fairness, that is an adequate description, but it lacks pizazz. It lacks personality. And more than anything else, it lacks a developed sense of sight.

Take sixty-seconds and write what you see in the scene shown in the aforementioned picture.


What do you see now?

How would you describe the shallow turquoise lake as its color darkens to a chilly cerulean blue before disappearing into the midnight depths of the central crevice?

What about the mountains? Are they snow-capped? Or does the snow creep down the mountainside in wispy white fingers before being swallowed by the soulless shadow mountains?

Is it a snowy white glacier? Or do you see the pockmarks, the spashes of dirt and sediment, and the areas smoothed by the run-off?

Take a deeper look. Imagine you are standing on this glacier. See the lake. Peer at the mountain. Watch the wind blow across the landscape.

Now what do you see?

Leave your unique description of what you “see” in the comments below. And make sure to take the time to always peer into your scene, setting, or storyworld and describe and your characters in an exceptionally engaging way.

TWEETABLES
5 Ways to Write Using the Five Senses—Sight - @CyleYoung on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Describing something we see doesn't have to be bland - @CyleYoung (Click to Tweet)

Cyle Young is thankful God blessed him with the uniqueness of being an ADD-riddled…SQUIRREL!...binge writer. Not much unlike the classic video game Frogger, Cyle darts back and forth between various writing genres. He crafts princess children’s stories, how-to advice for parents, epic fantasy tales, and easy readers.

7 comments:

  1. I see frosted majestic mountain peaks looming up to meet the cold forsaken plane. A crystalline blue oasis bubbles up from somewhere deep below to gently spill over the edges of the ice-covered tundra leaving a trail of sparkling beauty. Patches of light escape through billowy clouds to dance upon the snow-crusted horizon.

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    Replies
    1. I love the patches of light and use of the word crystalline... great job!

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  2. Great descriptions, Cyle. I see aqua ripples frozen in time by the finger of Almighty God. They will resume the journey when the warm breath of spring releases them from winters grip. Love your picture. A3 is the place to be.

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  3. i see the shades of colors, the textures, i hear the wind whistling across the ice-scape, i see the video of a fox looking for food, or a polar bear lumbering across the scene.

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