How to make your writing more evocative

How to make your writing more evocative ****How to make your writing more evocative**** How to make your writing more evocative. Writing evocative is writing well, and it is the key to drawing your readers into the world you've created. The impact of evocative writing is staggering. Done well, the reader will experience the world of your story as though it was all real. By taking the time to show them what's happening, to make them feel the same sensations as your characters, you'll put them right in the middle of everything that's happening. Evocative writing is often described in terms like "sensory details" or "vivid descriptions." These are pretty good ways to think about it. A big part of being evocative is to give the reader enough information that they can picture what's happening. You don't need to give them a complete, detailed, accurate picture, but you need to give them a good starting point. It's often the small details which are the most evocative. The way a character dresses, for example, can say a lot about them, and the way you describe their clothing can create a good impression in the reader's mind. --- **Hear** You can use onomatopoeia (words that imitate the sound they describe) to help the reader hear the sounds of your world. You can also have characters comment on the sounds they hear. For example, if a character steps into a forest, they might comment on the calls of the birds or the rustling of leaves. It's a good idea to use verbs which describe the sound, rather than saying "it was very loud." Instead, you could say "it boomed," or "it crashed," or "it roared." Example: "She heard the sickening crack as the bone broke. She felt a wave of nausea wash over her." --- ** **Smell** The sense of smell is closely linked to the sense of memory. This means that smells can be very evocative for readers, calling up memories they might have forgotten about for years. It's a good idea to have characters smell the same things that the reader is supposed to smell. This will help them relate to the character's experience and will make the description more evocative. Example: "He hobbled along the beach, the salt wind blowing through his hair. The sea was calm, barely lapping the shore, but he could still smell its faint tang. The memory of the ocean brought a wave of sadness with it, as he thought of the woman he had lost." --- **Taste** Taste is harder to describe than some of other the senses. We often describe the taste of food by comparing it to other food. For example, if you wanted to describe the taste of "sweet and sour chicken," you might say it's sweet, then sour, then a little bit salty, then a little bit spicy, followed by a flavor a bit like chicken. It's a good idea to break tastes down in this way, rather than just giving a single adjective. Example: "She took a bite of the sandwich, the sweetness of the pickle hitting her taste buds first. The tang of the mayonnaise followed, then the richness of the cheese as it melted in her mouth. Finally, she tasted the slightly dry flavor of the bread." --- **Sight** The sense of sight is our most relied-upon sense, and it's also the sense we're most used to describing as writers. Imagine you are describing a room you've been in. You might describe the color of the walls, where the windows are, what's on the furniture. These are all details that the reader will use to build a picture of what you're describing. Example: "He walked through the city, the bright lights of the skyscrapers towering above him. The pavement was crowded, with people rushing past him in every direction. There were cars parked along one side of the road, their windows glinting in the streetlights. A few spots along the sidewalk were marked out for food carts. Each cart had a large umbrella above it, with bright colors and flashing lights to draw in customers." --- **Touch** Touch is an interesting sense. It's closely linked to both temperature and pain, but it also describes other sensations like pressure or texture. For example, the feeling of sand beneath bare feet, the feeling of slugs on your fingertips, the feeling of a breeze in your hair. When describing touch, try to use a variety of verbs to describe what's happening. For example, instead of just saying that something touches a character, you could use words like "brushes," "grazes," "scrapes," or "tickles." Example: "She walked along the beach, the sand brushing against her skin. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow over the water. A cool breeze blew in from the ocean, rustling her hair. She sat down, feeling the sand shift beneath her. It was cool against her legs. The slats of the deck were rough on her fingertips." ---

How to make your writing more evocative

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