June 1, 2026
Which of the senses is the hardest for you to include in your writing?
As a writer, we’re told all the time to include all the senses in our writing.
That can be a hard job. It’s part of the adage “Show, not tell.” I can describe a snowy day -cold, windy, dark clouds, maybe even the smell of a storm moving is – but taste?
That’s my downfall. I’ll easily tell you about the Chinese food my characters are eating, but to describe the flavor of those dishes eludes me. How many words are there? Sweet, salty, spicy, chocolatey? I suspect that I am flavor-blind in a way. In real life, other people can taste basic flavors in food long before I can. Even something as simple as potato chips don’t appeal to me because I find them bland. Something has to be really salty before I can taste the salt. I once cooked a batch of biscuits with half the salt the recipe called for. I couldn’t tell the difference, but my mother-in-law could.
So taste is the hardest sense for me to write. How do you describe what a chocolate cake tastes like? What’s the difference between a strawberry and a blueberry? If you haven’t experienced a food or a spice, how do you describe it or understand the description someone else has shared?
But I guess that’s true for any of the senses. How do you describe a blue sky to someone who has lived in darkness? Or the difference between the smell of burnt feathers and daisies?
That’s our job as writers. It’s not always easy. Truthfully, it’s rarely easy.
What do the other authors on this hop have trouble writing? Find out by following the links below.
As always, please stay safe until the next time.
Goal update: I’ve broken 60,000 words. Unless the universe interferes, I should finish in a day or two!
June 1, 2026
Which of the senses is the hardest for you to include in your writing?