Little Traces
A Chapbook
5-Senses Walk
"Show; don't tell." Of course, we have to do both in a short story, but the point is that the description works to create the reality of the story, the world of the story; it sets the mood and the tone of the story and is the container for the action and dialogue.
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This exercise is one way to practice at close observation and then gather those observations and use them in your creative writing.
5-Senses Walk Instructions
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Unplug from your electronic devices.
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Don’t say no; say yes. Turn them off; ignore them or leave it at home. Put a snack or mint or gum in your pocket, and take some water if you need it for your walk.
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Take a notebook and pen and go somewhere to which you can safely take a 10-minute solo walk anywhere outside, collecting in your notebook as many sense impressions as you can notice for each of 5 senses. (The snack or mint or gum is for “taste,” unless you’re one of those people who walk around eating wild things, like my fellow). Just jot your impressions down in a list form, so that you collect as many as possible; the more details you have, the more you have to draw from in the next part.
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On your return
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Using the sense impressions you collected from your walk, write a descriptive passage from the point of view of any character, perhaps one who is in a particular mood. You can choose to write from the first, second, or third-person point of view, but stay close to the character you choose. (It’s entirely up to you if you want to use a character from your current story-in-progress and see what happens.)
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