Using The 5 Senses In Writing: Examples To Inspire You

Using the 5 senses in writing can deeply immerse readers in scenes and stories by creating more vivid imagery in their minds. It’s a skill that can elevate books to a higher level. In simple terms, it is writing that employs the five sense to create mental images for the reader.

But so often we writers find ourselves lured into the trap of relying on sight and sound. Relying on a narrow range of sensory language isn’t always enough to bring a story to life. We can inject so much more into our stories simply by utilizing sensory details in our writing.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at our sensory organs, why we use vivid writing, look at a bunch of illustrative 5 senses examples, and ways we can use each sense to elevate our stories to the next level. 

Many people experience things through smell, touch, and taste. It’s our job as authors to use the five senses in writing to enrich our tales and prose with vivid imagery, which is often used to help the reader feel immersed and engaged. 

In fact, the oft-forgotten 5 senses are some of the most powerful forms of description, things that can enrich a story and give it life. Here’s how you can master it.

What Are The Five Sensory Organs?

Before we dive into looking at the 5 senses in a writing context, let’s look at what the five sensory organs are:

1. Eyes
2. Ears
3. Special receptors in the skin that enable us to touch and feel
4. Nose
5. Tastebuds

Combined, our five senses enable us to learn, experience and create memories. Pepsi Max, for example, always reminds me of my history lessons in college—I’d drink a can during every lesson. Think of songs too. They have an incredible ability to transport us back to moments in our past. Let’s explore things in more detail.

Now, something you may be wondering about is whether or not there are more than the 5 classic senses. It is, in fact, believed that there is more than touch, taste, sound, sight, smell. These golden 5 were defined by Aristotle because he could relate them to sensory organs. They are sometimes known as the “five senses folk model”.

But it depends on the manner in which you define a sense.

Newer approaches look at the number of sensory organs we have. And many academics now counter the sixth sense as the vestibular system. This relates to the inner ear and the impact it has on our balance and vision.

But other academics have gone further than this. Some tweak the definition to include sensory receptors. Now the skin, for instance, has at least four sensory receptors, relating to pain, temperature, touch and body awareness (otherwise known as proprioception).

So when someone asks how many senses do we have, it’s all a matter of definition. You can check out this awesome video below by SciShow which explains things in more detail.

Sight

Perhaps the main one of the five senses, sight often receives information first and therefore forms our initial judgements.

When it comes to using sight in writing, our stories and characters are often guided by this prime form of description. We describe what our characters see.

However, it would be nigh impossible to describe every aspect of a scene, and even if you did achieve it, nigh impossible to read.

Some of the most acclaimed writers, Charles Dickens, in particular, approached it by picking the right details. The little things that tell us everything. Let’s look at an example of the sense of sight in writing from Great Expectations:

“There was a bookcase in the room; I saw, from the backs of the books, that they were about evidence, criminal law, criminal biography, trials, acts of parliament, and such things. The furniture was all very solid and good, like his watch-chain. It had an official look, however, and there was nothing merely ornamental to be seen. In a corner, was a little table of papers with a shaded lamp: so he seemed to bring the office home with him in that respect too, and to wheel it out of an evening and fall to work.”

This is Jagger’s office. Though he doesn’t feature, we’ve gleaned much about who he is from details like the types of books upon the shelves and the paper-filled table, suggesting he lives a busy, professional life.

Colour is another fantastic tool when it comes to sight. Dickens was known for using colours to portray emotions or themes, such as red for frustration or anger, black for death, white for purity or goodness. Using colour, particularly with themes and the premise, can add extra layers to a story.

We explore some more 5 senses examples below to give you some ideas when it comes to sight.

Writing Prompt

Stand in the middle of your bedroom. Look all around you. Make notes of every little detail you see. Colours, shapes. Crumbs or dust on the floor. The more attentive you can be the better.

Pick out things that could relate to characterisation. The books on a shelf perhaps—what kind of books are they? Are there empty glasses beside your bed, dishes too? All of this helps to build interesting imagery, as well as contribute to other elements of the story, in this instance, characterization.

Sound

Sound is incredibly important when it comes to using the 5 senses in our writing. Dialogue dominates many stories, but so often little attention is paid to how characters sound when they talk. It’s strange when you think about how unique people sound, and a person’s voice makes such a difference to how we form views of them.

Something I learned not so long ago is that ducks don’t quack. They tend to grunt or even cackle. It’s easy to assume how things sound, but sometimes what we assume is wrong.

It’s always worth taking the time to research. In doing so you may find new and original ways to describe the sound. Using metaphors and similes, particularly if the sound is unusual, is a great way to bring clarity to descriptions.

Another often overlooked thing is silence. Silence is an excellent tool to set the tone or build an atmosphere or tension. A noiseless forest. A still, foggy street. Eerie.

Writing Prompt

Either using yourself or ideally, your character, place yourself in a location in which things are happening around you—a park, for instance. Close your eyes and listen.

Make a note of every little sound you hear, from tweeting birds to jackhammers digging up roads. If you can, make a note of how different sounds make you feel. Do fireworks startle you, for instance? Then think about why they could startle you or your character.

Touch

Of all the five senses, touch is, in my view, one of the most powerful yet underrated ones. If you can convey touch in an effective way, you’ll reap the rewards.

The scope of this sense depends on the nature of the scene, but imagine, for example, walking barefoot through a forest. The softness of moss between your toes, the cool slime of mud, the pokes and scratches of sticks and stones. Such details can draw readers deeper into the story.

We’ll look at some sensory writing exercises below, but as a brief writing prompt now, close your eyes and pick something up. Describe how that object feels. What features does it have? The texture? Sturdiness? Width? Weight?

These little details can make all the difference when it comes to incorporating the 5 senses in your writing.

Taste

Taste is the more neglected one out of the five sensory organs when it comes to writing. Just like all of the senses, using taste can enrich your story immensely.

How many times have you said the phrase, “It tastes like …”. So many of our memories are tied to tastes. Like I said before, Pepsi Max always reminds me of history classes in college. Which tastes trigger memories for you?

If this happens to us, it happens to your characters too. It’s a great thing to include within your characterization process.

Like smell, taste can serve as a trigger for memories. For example, a husband who shared a love for apple turnovers baked by his deceased wife is reminded of her whenever he eats one.

Taste can also trigger emotions. There’ve been times when I’ve eaten food that tasted so good I bounced with glee in my chair.

Writing Prompt

A fun one. Head down to your kitchen and finding something to eat that has a bit of texture. Close your eyes, take a bite. Focus closely as you chew, as the food rolls around your mouth, over your tongue and down your throat. How does it taste? How does it make you feel?

Smell

We, at last, arrive at smell, though its place is no reflection on its importance when it comes to using the 5 senses in our writing.

The power of smells cannot be underestimated. We smell things all of the time and those scents help to shape our impressions. What can you whiff right now?

A smell helps us to form a judgement on things, such as whether something’s okay to eat. And crucially, smells can trigger vivid memories and emotions, vital tools to any writer.

Here’s one of my favorite 5 senses examples for using smell in writing from James Joyce’s Ulysses:

“Mr Leopold Bloom ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liverslices fried with crustcrumbs, fried hencods’ roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.” 

How do you describe the smell of rain in creative writing?

Similar to the task above which involves a trip out to a busy place, like a park, sit down and have a good sniff. Another good place to try is a coffee shop. Lots of smells of roasting coffee and baking cakes in there.

Importantly, think about where those smells lead you in your mind. Do they trigger memories? Do associated words pop into your mind? From your character’s perspective, this is what their experience would be like too.

Why Do We Use The 5 Senses In Writing?

So, as we’ve seen above, this style of descriptive writing employs the five sense to create mental images for the reader.

Using the 5 senses in writing is crucial for creating vivid, engaging narratives. When we incorporate sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, we activate the reader’s sensory experiences which can help make the story more immersive and memorable.

Neuroscience supports this approach. Studies show that sensory details engage the brain’s sensory cortex, enhancing emotional and cognitive processing (Fischer & Zwaan, 2008). This means readers are not just passively reading but actively experiencing the text, which boosts retention and emotional connection.

On top of this, sensory-rich descriptions can trigger mirror neurons, which help readers empathize with characters’ experiences (Iacoboni, 2009). This empathy can deepen their engagement and investment in the story, making it more impactful.

Renowned authors like Ernest Hemingway and Gabriel García Márquez skillfully use sensory details to create vivid imagery and evoke strong emotions. Their works demonstrate how sensory descriptions can transform simple narratives into powerful, lasting experiences. Below, we look at some examples of the five senses in writing to help illustrate how powerful this approach can be.

So, incorporating the five senses in writing is not just a stylistic choice but a scientifically-backed method to enhance reader engagement, emotional response, and memory.

5 Senses Examples In Writing

Let’s move on to look at some 5 senses examples. As we’ve seen above, vivid imagery is often used to help the reader feel immersed in the story. So in this section, I’ve provided some descriptive writing examples from some bestselling books that make great use of the 5 senses.

“The tearing of flesh, as though a butcher were yanking meat from a flank. The bubbling of liquids and the soft rasping of the cutting tools.” Tooth & Nail, Ian Rankin

“Stars spun across his vision and his head felt as if it were about to burst… With difficulty, Hanno undid the chinstrap and eased off his helmet. Cool air ruffled his sweat-soaked hair.” Hannibal: Fields of Blood Ben Kane

“A cold wind was blowing out of the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things. All day, Will had felt as though something were watching him, something cold and implacable that loved him not.” A Game of Thrones, George RR Martin

“It was dark and dim all day. From the sunless dawn until evening the heavy shadow had deepened, and all hearts in the City were oppressed. Far above a great cloud streamed slowly westward from the Black Land, devouring light, borne upon a wind of war; but below the air was still and breathless, as if all the Value of Anduin waited for the onset of a ruinous storm.” The Return Of The King, JRR Tolkien.

This last one for me is a great example of a descriptive paragraph using the five senses. From the off, you not only get a vivid image of the setting (dark, dim, sunless dawn), but you can feel what it’s like to be there on an emotional level (hearts in the City were oppressed). Our senses are further teased with the description of a “still and breathless” air. 

If you’d like to find more sensory description examples, I recommend doing this simple exercise:

Pick up any book that you see, one ideally that you don’t mind marking with a pen or highlighter. Next, scan the pages, looking for descriptive scenes. Whenever you see a sentence that refers to any of the five senses, highlight it in some way.

The benefit of doing this is that you get examples from a variety of different writers, each with their own clever way of making their exposition more immersive.

Something you may notice is that many of them employ metaphors and similes to help you build a visual image in your mind. This is a very effective way of using the 5 senses in writing. You could say things like:

• The water smashed into the ground like the tide hitting a rocky coast
• A squeal filled the air like a pig fearing slaughter
• It smelled like an overflowing latrine pit sat in the baking sun

If you’re looking for more 5 senses examples for your writing, one of the best things you can do is to read books that pay particular attention to this. One of the standout books that explore this is Blindness by José Saramago.

There’s no shortage of sensory language examples out there for you to study. From books to writing guides like this, there are plenty of helpful resources you can learn from. 

Examples Of A Descriptive Paragraph Using The Five Senses

I wanted to provide you with a few examples of a descriptive paragraph that uses the five senses. Examine how they elevate the scene by drawing you deeper. Each little detail paints a more vivid picture, such that you can almost feel yourself there, experiencing it yourself. This is a real skill when it comes to creative writing, but it’s definitely one you can learn and master. 

Let’s look at our first 5 senses paragraph example:

Example 1

The mud of the road sucked at her tattered leather boots, a quagmire after incessant rains. Autumn circled like a hawk. The wind grabbed at her woollen green cloak and homespun dress. The hand-me-downs from her cousins never fitted, always too wide at the waist and short of length. She pulled her cloak tight about her, bundling it around her hands to keep away the biting chill.

Example 2

The ringing gave way to those crashes and bangs, each one coming with the beat of his heart. His eyes flickered open. Slate-grey clouds hung above. Dust hovered in the air, rocks and debris showered down upon him. He raised his throbbing head and looked around. Men and women, hands over their ears, cowered down behind the crenellations of the wall, fear etched upon their faces, consuming their eyes, paralyzing their bodies. A few defiant individuals continued to loose arrows. For many, it was the last they shot. The Karraban thunder smashed the parapets to bits, obliterated siege engines, battered the cliff behind them and knocked from it great chunks of rock that tumbled down to crush those below. The ringing in Jem’s ears eased enough for him to hear the screams. They became the backdrop to the rumbling of the Karraban thunder. Only one thought entered Jem’s mind: flee.

Example 3

The bells rang loud and panicked across Yurrisa. Hidden in the shadows of the abandoned warehouse, Edvar and the others lay in wait. He peered through a crack in a boarded window at the cobbled street. Echoing along it came a shout. Another. Steps rushed toward him, and into view burst a group of soldiers, breaths billowing mist in the cold morning air.

As you can see, these examples use each of the five senses to great effect. If you’re curious where these came from, I pinched them from Pariah’s Lament.

A Checklist For Using The Five Senses

Something I’ve done to improve my use of the 5 senses in my writing is to include them within the planning process. It’s good to save it until the end when you’ve plotted out your story or chapter, however.

What I do is read over the plan and try and place myself in the scenes. Working my way through each sense, I list everything that pops into my head.

1. It’ll be unlikely that you need to spend too much time on sight, but taking the time to consider things in detail can provoke new and unique ideas. What little details can be included? Remember the power of specificity.
2. Next, onto sounds. Like sights, it’s unlikely you’ll need to spend too much time on this but it’s always helpful to consider the likes of characters’ voices and any usual sounds that could be featured.
3. Smells. When it comes to smells a good starting point is to list everything that comes to mind, even mere whiffs, which can be the most telling of all. Smells can provoke memories and emotions too, like the smell of perfume could remind a character of their dead lover, and that leaves you open to describe emotions.
4. What can your character touch or feel? How does the hilt of the sword feel in your character’s fingers? How does the touch of a vivacious woman feel to your lonely character? What information can be gleaned from the manner of a handshake?
5. Lastly, what tastes, if any, can you include? Is your character eating? Can they taste blood after being punched in the cheek? Do they enter a room where the smell is so foetid they can taste it?

Exercises To Help You Use The 5 Senses In Writing

Here are a few useful exercises to get into the swing of using the senses. The more you practice, the more it’ll become ingrained in the way you write.

• One place, one sense. As the title suggests, think of a place and describe everything you can using just one sense. Challenge yourself. Pick a sense you feel you struggle with. Or do one sense, then a different one.
• Walk and write. Take a notepad and write five headings: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. The next time you go out, even if it’s just to the shop on the corner, write down everything you experience. The touch of the rain or breeze, how the pavement feels underfoot, snippets of passing conversation you hear, the whistle of birds, how that warm and crispy sausage roll tastes. *Warning* You may look odd stopping all the time.
• Close your eyes and pick something up. This one was mentioned above, but it’s a powerful tool. Jot down everything you can think of.
• Pick your favourite food and eat! This one’s a bit more fun. Take chocolate for example. Savour each bite and write down everything, from taste to texture, the sounds of it breaking in your mouth, and importantly, how it makes you feel.
• Pick something alien and try to use sensory descriptions. This is a great way to challenge your use of the 5 senses because you have to create everything from scratch and to a whole new level of detail. So if you’re a sci-fi writer, this could be a great way to learn how to describe a spaceship in writing. 

Write A Short Story With The 5 Senses

One of the most effective ways that you can sharpen your sensory description writing is to write a short story with the 5 senses. 

The way it works is simple. Plan out your story—characters, plotting, theme—and then when it comes to the writing, you’re only permitted to use the five senses. 

It can help to think of a story in which you’d likely use the sensory organs more than usual. Let’s look at a few writing prompts:

• Your protagonist awakens in a dark cave. It’s cold and damp. They must figure out what’s happened and find their way out.
• Your protagonist is fleeing through a forest. What are they running from? What awaits them up ahead?
• Your character is upon a ship and is knocked overboard. How do they survive in the turbulent waves?

These are just a few prompts that are specifically designed to help you use the five senses in your writing. Trust me, an exercise like this will have your skillset sharpened in no time.

5 Senses Writing Prompts

Here are some detailed writing prompts designed to engage all five senses and spark your creativity:

1. At Home with a Strange Scent: You’re relaxing on the couch, the familiar glow of the TV casting soft light around the room. Suddenly, an unexpected scent wafts in—a smell so distinct it cuts through your focus. It’s not coming from the kitchen or the candles you lit earlier. It’s something else entirely, something nostalgic or ominous that makes your heart skip a beat. You pause the TV, scanning the room, straining your memory to place it. What does it remind you of? Where is it coming from? And what do you do next?
2. Alone in the Woods: For three grueling days, you’ve been trekking alone through a dense, ancient forest. The undergrowth claws at your legs, the damp air clings to your skin, and the sound of your footsteps crunching leaves is the only company you’ve had. Exhaustion weighs on you like a heavy pack. As the sun sets, shadows twist into shapes that seem alive. You build a small fire, but the warmth doesn’t quiet your nerves. Suddenly, twigs snap nearby, too close for comfort. You hear a low, deliberate rustle—an unnatural sound in an otherwise silent night. The dying fire casts faint orange glows; your heartbeat quickens. What do you see, smell, hear, and feel in this moment?
3. Lost in the Office: It’s your first day at a massive new job, and the labyrinth of hallways and offices feels overwhelming. After lunch, you try to retrace your steps but find yourself utterly lost. The quiet hum of fluorescent lights and distant typing makes the building seem sterile and unwelcoming. Opening a random door, you find a staircase spiraling down into dim light. Curiosity—or desperation—pushes you forward. The air grows cooler, the sound of the office fades, and each step seems to echo ominously. Just as you begin to reconsider, the steps give way beneath you. You tumble into complete darkness, the air sharp with the smell of damp concrete. Distant growls send chills down your spine. You fumble for your phone, its flashlight flickering to life. What does it reveal?

Each of these prompts invites you to explore sensory details—sights, smells, sounds, textures, and even tastes—to fully immerse your reader in the moment. Let your imagination guide you and see where the story takes you!

Adjectives For The Five Senses

You can never have enough adjectives to help you describe the five senses. Below, you can find a pretty simple list, but it serves as a great starting point. From there you can add some of your own 5 senses examples. You can also head here to discover more adjectives to to help you describe people and places.

Tips On Using The 5 Senses To Describe Something

Sometimes we wish to enrich our descriptions of static objects. These items may not have much about them. Think of a black box, for example. On the face, it looks plain and boring. However, in exploring the box with our 5 senses, we can zoom in on the cracks and chips along the edges, at the roughness of the surface, at the smell of what’s inside the box.

Here are some tips to help you describe something using the 5 senses:

• Show, Don’t Tell – Instead of stating that a character is nervous, describe their sensory experiences. For instance, “Her palms felt clammy, and the bitter taste of anxiety coated her tongue as the cold draft whispered through the room.” This allows readers to feel the character’s emotions.
• Use Metaphors And Similies – Employ relatable similes and metaphors to create a strong visual image. Instead of saying “the garden was nice,” try “the garden burst with vibrant purples and reds, each flower a delicate brushstroke of nature’s artistry, filling the air with a sweet, earthy fragrance.”
• Engage All Senses – Ensure that your description covers more than just sight. For example, in a market scene, describe the “crisp, tangy scent of fresh apples,” the “hustle and bustle” of vendors calling out, the “rough, textured skin” of a mango, the “sweet, juicy taste” of a ripe peach, and the “kaleidoscope of colors” from different stalls.
• Be Specific – Specific details can make a description more authentic and engaging. Rather than saying “the room smelled bad,” describe the “stale scent of old socks and sour milk lingered in the air.”
• Incorporate Sensory Memories – Tap into common sensory experiences that readers can relate to. For example, “The crackling fireplace brought memories of cozy winter nights, with the smoky scent of burning logs and the warmth of the flames on their faces.”

By applying these tips, you can create rich, multi-sensory descriptions that immerse readers in your narrative, making scenes and emotions more relatable, especially when it comes to describing static objects.

Advice On Describing People Using The 5 Senses

Sometimes just describing how someone looks isn’t enough. We have to hone in on their features, like their coarse, unkept beard, or the smell that follows them round. Here are some great pieces of advice for describing people using the five senes:

• Auditory Cues – Describe the person’s voice and other sounds associated with them. For instance, “His deep, gravelly voice resonated like a distant thunderstorm, each word punctuated by a contagious, hearty laugh that filled the room.” This provides an auditory element that can make the character more memorable.
• Tactile Descriptions – Use touch to convey aspects of the person. For example, “His handshake was firm and calloused, a testament to years of hard labor, while the fabric of his worn flannel shirt was soft from countless washes.” This adds a tactile dimension to your description.
• Olfactory Imagery – Incorporate scents associated with the person. For instance, “She carried the faint aroma of lavender and vanilla, a soothing blend that lingered in the air long after she left the room.” This can evoke strong sensory associations and enhance the reader’s connection to the character.
• Gustatory Elements – While taste is less commonly used, it can be effective in specific contexts, especially in romance scenes. For example, “The kiss tasted of peppermint and coffee, a surprising combination that left a lingering warmth.” This can add a unique and intimate layer to your description.

By integrating these sensory elements, you can create a well-rounded and vivid portrayal of a person, making them more real and relatable to your readers.

If you’d like to learn more about sensory language and using these details in your writing, I recommend checking out my in-depth guide here. You can find a bunch more examples to help you further.

More 5 Senses Examples And Guides

Thank you so much for checking out this guide on using the 5 senses in writing. I genuinely hope it’s been of use to you. Below, I’ve included some more guides on writing as well as places you can find extra 5 senses examples that you may find useful.

I may not have a sensory details generator on my site, but you can check out this random fantasy name generator tool to help with character creation

Learn more from my fantasy writing podcast

And to help you make your notes about the 5 senses, check out my guide to notebooks for writers

Check out my free book description generator here

If you’d like to learn more about words that begin with the letter E that you can use to describe someone, check out this guide. You can find words to help you describe someone in a positive or negative way, complete with definitions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) On Using The 5 Senses In Writing

Below, you can find answers to some commonly asked questions when it comes to sensory descriptions, as well as more 5 senses examples.

If you have any questions or need more examples of the 5 senses in writing, please contact me.