The Colors Of The Five Senses

Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts

The Exercise — Using five different-colored highlighters, mark a text with a different color for each sense impression, e.g., blue for visual, red for auditory, green for taste, etc. Synaesthesia would, of course, be indicated by more than one color. Writers vary greatly in terms of the dominance of one sense or another. The goal, though, is to find passages using all five senses — then to write such passages.

The Objective — To heighten awareness of the need for a full repertoire of sense evocations in good writing. Ideally, you should call forth all five senses as well as synaesthesia. The writer thereby evokes from the reader a full range of responses.

I could taste them by the color and smell💙💜

of those brownies right out of the oven.

I could taste them by the crunch of the nuts 💚❤️

that she had placed in them just yesterday.

~

The frosting looked so smooth and so creamy 💙

that I knew the taste would be just as good.💚

The frosting was green, for St. Patrick's Day 💙

I can hear the parade outside my door.❤️

~

When I pick up the pretty treat, I sigh 🩵

The smell of chocolate and mint fills the air💜

Then I remember I am allergic

to mint! However, could this happen now?

~

I will have to enjoy the looks, the smell,💙💜

to feel and hear other people crunching.🩵❤️

The taste I can only imagine now!💚