1. Writing with Vivid Description and Sensory Appeal

2. Good Writers are Good Observers When is the last time you observed the following, and could you describe them in detail? When is the last time you observed the following, and could you describe them in detail? your math teacher’s eyes your math teacher’s eyes the plants in your back yard the plants in your back yard The sound your dishwasher makes when you close it The sound your dishwasher makes when you close it the name and flavor of your toothpaste the name and flavor of your toothpaste GOOD WRITERS OBSERVE AND REMEMBER SIGHTS, SOUNDS, TEXTURES, SMELLS AND TASTES AROUND THEM IN ORDER TO WRITE ABOUT THEM IN VIVID DETAIL. GOOD WRITERS OBSERVE AND REMEMBER SIGHTS, SOUNDS, TEXTURES, SMELLS AND TASTES AROUND THEM IN ORDER TO WRITE ABOUT THEM IN VIVID DETAIL.

3. Jack London’s Vivid and Descriptive Style Read the following paragraph from the first page of The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Notice the vivid details he offers to describe the house and grounds where Buck lived: Read the following paragraph from the first page of The Call of the Wild by Jack London. Notice the vivid details he offers to describe the house and grounds where Buck lived: Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller’s place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half-hidden among the trees, through which glimpses could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was approached by gravelled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear things were on even a more spacious scale than at the front. There were great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants’ cottages, an endless and orderly array of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards, and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well, and the big cement tank where Judge Miller’s boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon. Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley. Judge Miller’s place, it was called. It stood back from the road, half-hidden among the trees, through which glimpses could be caught of the wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides. The house was approached by gravelled driveways which wound about through wide-spreading lawns and under the interlacing boughs of tall poplars. At the rear things were on even a more spacious scale than at the front. There were great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth, rows of vine-clad servants’ cottages, an endless and orderly array of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards, and berry patches. Then there was the pumping plant for the artesian well, and the big cement tank where Judge Miller’s boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon.

4. Some of the descriptions you may have noted are: the Santa Clara Valley:sun-kissed the big house: stood back from the road half-hidden among the trees wide cool veranda that ran around its four sides approached by gravelled driveways drivewayswound about through wide- spreading lawns and under the inter lacing boughs of tall poplars

5. rear of the housean even more spacious scale than the front great stables, where a dozen grooms and boys held forth rows of vine-clad servants’ cottages an endless array of outhouses, long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards and berry patches other detailsthe pumping plant for the artesian well the big cement tank where Judge Miller’s boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon

6. Observing with Your Senses Consulting a bank of vivid word possibilities can stir your imagination and get you thinking about to improve your own writing using sensory words. Here are some words to strengthen you ability to put vivid pictures in your readers’ minds. WORDS FOR COLOR: Burgundy, cinnamon, brick, flame, royal, teal, midnight, sapphire, gold, butterscotch, chartreuse, cream, chalk, enamel, platinum, tar, licorice, orchid, grape, violet, fuchsia, ashen, pearl, dove, slate, almond, tan, cocoa, walnut, celery, avocado, emerald, butter, ebony, mauve, steel, rust, chocolate, olive, lime SOME WORDS FOR APPEARANCE: Branching, cracked, ragged, frayed, singed, rugged, tufted, hollow, pasty, freckled, spotty, chubby, portly, dotted, dappled, shiny, flashy, drab, dingy, worn, chintzy, shimmering, frilled, swollen, lumpy, angular, domed WORDS FOR MOVEMENT: Scramble, gamble, dash, scurry, lumber, slouch, stray, shuffle, loiter, plod, leap, sprint, trot, bolt, tiptoe, edge, sneak, creep SHAPES: Tubular, circular, conical, shrunken, sharp, rectangular, acute, crooked, tapering, clustered

7. SOUNDS: Loud: crash, thud, thump, thunder, smash, screech, whistle, squawk, rumble, grate, jangle, rasp Soft: sigh, whisper, rustle, snap, hiss, buzz, zing, tinkle, clink, hush Speech: drawl, whimper, murmur, chatter, screech, stammer, stutter FEELINGS: warm, wet, satiny, furry, slippery, hot, leathery, soft, sandy, steamy, silky, scratchy, smooth, cool, scalding, damp, waxy, rubbery, crisp, velvety, woolly, feathery, fuzzy, hairy, gritty, sharp, mushy SMELLS: perfumed, earthy, briny, sulphurous TASTES: buttery, fruity, medicinal, stale

8. Your Turn Now that you are armed with a wealth of vivid sensory words, it’s your turn to see what you can do! On a separate piece of paper, use the bank of words on the last few slides to freewrite about one of the following experiences: A. walking along a beach or road on a hot day B. trudging through snow in January C. walking in the rain on a warm spring day D. coming upon a snake on a hike in the hills