Latex

Are you finding The 500 a bit harder than you'd like it to be? How about some inspiration in the form of a prompt?

Here you have a picture. It' s a lovely picture of some balloons in a rather disheartening predicament. For me, I always think about the smell of latex when I see busted balloons scattered about as they are in this particular picture. What other sorts of smells might be present in this scene? Where did they come from? How did they get there? How might the people (think of them as characters) be reacting to the scents, (even latex)?

Sensory description is essential to writing. Small details about the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste), give the reader an extra dimension into the the character's world that is often ignored. Sight is rarely overlooked, and sound often makes it into the description of the world, but there other three senses, I find, are often ignored, or given only a passing glance. I want to feel everything along with the characters, from the cool, dank floor of the tunnel to the acrid tang left on my tongue from rotting tree roots and earth. If there's nothing to hear, I want to enter that void of silence.

My point? Show your reader by allowing your reader to experience all five senses with your character. Don't leave your reader in the dark for even a second.

I want to know how Your 500 is coming along. Are you succeeding? What's helping you? Share it here.