Sensory Description/Imagery as a Literary Device

Examples of Show; Dont Tell

Bringing writing alive through the senses
Which of these two openings to the same story makes you feel as if you are
there?

Megan walked through the trees and found herself at another stream. Or was it the same
one? Shed been walking for hours and everything was starting to look the same. Maybe
shed never find her way back to camp.
OR
Megans feet burned with new blisters as her boots crunched through dead leaves and pine
needles. A cool breeze rustled the trees and raised goose bumps on her arms. Now and then
she paused to sniff the air, hoping to catch a whiff of smoke from the campfire but all she
smelled was the strong scent of pine. In the distance she heard rushing water. She hiked on
and broke out into the sunlight at the edge of another stream. Or was it the same one?
Everything was starting to look the same.
Before you begin writing a story, or a descriptive paragraph, collect sensory details.
If the setting is a place you can recall vividly or even revisit, think about it or observe
it for awhile and note everything around you. Make a quick pre-write list with the five
senses labeled:
sight, sound, taste, smell, touch

More examples:

The soldier was impressive. Versus:

He was a stocky, barrel-chested man in his thirties with thick muscular forearms, a jagged
scar running along his forehead, a Purple Heart and Vietnam Ribbon emblazoned on his chest.
The children were having fun. Versus:
Tumbling off the couch, letting our banshee-like screams, the small children fell to an
imaginary death at the foot of the torn and tattered cliff. (notice the metaphors)
I was embarrassed. Versus:
I felt my pupils bulged, and my eyes grew misty. My heart was drumming a loud tune, my
skull splitting with hideous high-pitched laughter. My throat was a desert, dry and wrinkled.
Like an oven set on 375 degrees, I felt my face grow red and burn. My ears buzzed with
giggles and screams, and my sweat smelled and felt like boiling hot water. I sank low into my
chair, wishing I could disappear on the spot.