2004 GIFT GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Writers spend a lifetime sharpening their powers of observation. To hone these skills in my feature writing class, I�ve devised a series of exercises focused on the five senses to help students notice the details that add color and texture to a story. These exercises also enable students to take a close look at the trees instead of the forest, where too often beginning writers get lost.

These exercises, which can be spread over several classes, help students become better observers and better writers. They learn how to look at a scene in more than one way. By painting pictures with words, they re-create reality so readers can stand in their shoes. These exercises aren�t graded, so students feel free to stretch themselves.

• The language of listening: Hone your eavesdropping skills.

  We�ve all been told not to eavesdrop, but it�s one of the best ways to improve students� skills with dialogue. By focusing on the speech patterns and rhythms of everyday conversations, students gain a better understanding of how real people speak. Students go someplace on or near campus for half an hour and listen in on as many conversations as possible. Back in the classroom, they write a short piece describing the scene and including some dialogue.

• The language of seeing: The many shades of red.

  I give students several paint chips from a paint store and ask them to come up with names for the different shades. This exercise helps them realize there are many shades of any one color.

• The language of seeing: The color of food.

  First, students list five occasions where people regularly get together over food, such as a tailgate picnic or a farmers market. They then choose one occasion from their list and describe it based on color. Perhaps all the food is one color: Scandinavian meals tend to be all white. Or maybe the food is of boundless variety, and they describe the exact shade of the tomatoes and the pale sheen of the souffl�.

• The language of scent: Sniff bags.

  I bring in small paper bags fragrant with familiar scents, such as a sliced lemon, a cloth soaked in Old Spice and another in bleach. After I pass the bags around, each student writes about one scent. Some of the associations are magical, such as the taste of grandma�s chocolate chip cookies conjuring up memories of happy times together.

• The language of taste: The power of description.

  I list words associated with the sense of taste, such as hot soup, barbecue sauce, fresh coffee and warm bread. Without spending time in preparation, the students free-write, letting their creative juices flow, not worrying about grammar, spelling, punctuation and AP style. This is simply to enhance their power of description�a very helpful asset for any writer.

• The language of touch: Writing with precision.

  Students write a paragraph describing an object by its parts and dimensions. They then read these aloud and see if their description is precise enough so their classmates can guess what the object is.

• The language of the senses: Putting it all together.

  As a capstone exercise for learning to write visually, students have 45 minutes to go somewhere on or near campus and use all their senses to observe the smallest details. Back in the classroom, they write a descriptive scene incorporating as many of those sensory experiences as possible without going overboard. I encourage them to give their writing a push with a simile or metaphor.

• I�m often astonished by the color and detail in the descriptive passages written while the imagery is still fresh, which helps students appreciate the power of immediacy in writing (and not procrastinating!).

• These exercises make students use not just their eyes but all their senses. The more students are aware of, the richer their writing will be.

• On end-of-semester evaluations, many students mention these exercises as one of their favorite�and most valuable�parts of the class.

  From one student: �I felt that I�d lost my voice from writing so many news stories. Now I�m beginning to sing again�or at least chirp.�

  From another: �Wow! Now I notice things I never paid attention to before.�