The Senses: An Exercise

was frustration with computers the real reason for extinction?

I was feeling rather frustrated this morning because my laptop's battery port is on the fritz and it's made me feel a bit like a Triceratops squaring off with a T-Rex (I haven't decided if I'm the Tri or the Rex, but I'm leaning toward the dude with the monster horns even though I often feel at one with Mr. T). Add to that a rather sleepless night (though a satisfactory football/soccer game at 4am) and I needed some delicious visual therapy. I find that when I'm in need of ten minutes chill time, I either check out food porn at Tastespotting or Foodgawker or craft porn at Craftgawker or One Pretty Thing. This morning I was at One Pretty Thing and I came across these adorable quilted coffee cup holders (MUST figure out how to make these) that led me to the blog In Color Order. It was my first trip to this blog, but I love how colorful and vintage-y everything is!

so pretty it soothes

Beyond the loveliness of the colors and patterns, what I noticed was at the end of each post the blogger notes one sensation she loves in relation to each of her five senses, as well as the good things of the day. I was struck by this, not only as something I'd like to do myself, but also as something that would be a great tool for character and setting development in my novels. I asked myself what would happen if I stopped in the middle of a scene on occasion and jotted down what my characters loved to smell, hear, taste, see and feel at that very moment in the story. It's such a simple, quick exercise, but it went a long way in building the details of the story even if only in my head. And any story can benefit from the richness of sensory experience.

Next time you're on a writing spree, take a moment in the middle to determine what your character:

Loves the smell of
Loves the taste of
Loves the sound of
Loves the sight of
Loves the feel of

Plus:

One good thing right then
One bad thing right then

You might even want to do this as a daily personal exercise, as I think I shall.

Today I:

love the smell of cold Autumn air through my window
love the taste of chocolate covered coffee beans
love the sound of The National
love the sight of a plum-colored wool coat
love the feel of the blanket my grandma crocheted for me 15 years ago


Good thing: Planning my Christmas Euro escapade
Bad thing: I might need a new laptop