Using All Five Senses

Up to here, most of the emphasis has been placed on visual details; there’s little doubt that in describing
most things, visual properties form the dominant portions of our descriptions. This is because for most of
us, our sight is the sense which is the primary -- and dominant -- sense through which we perceive our
world. What something looks like is extraordinarily important in our ability to perceive it, particularly
when we are trying to perceive something solely through a written description.
However, the best descriptive writing evokes objects through the use of more than just sight. The more a
writer can capture an object through senses such as sound, smell, touch, and even taste, the more vivid and
unique the writer’s description becomes. If, in describing the apple above, the writer includes the aroma of
the apple (if it had one), or a sense of what the apple’s skin might feel like, or even if the writer imagines
the possible taste of an apple like this, the description of the apple becomes even more specific and
memorable. In observing an object one aims to describe, the goal is always to try to see past the obvious --
and this most certainly includes observing not only the visual qualities of something, but attempting to
perceive it through all five senses.