During a recent visit to our home our young grandson thought I needed help making hot chocolate for him and his little brother. In his best penmanship he wrote: "Respie to Make Hot Chocklete. 1. Pore some water in a cup. 2. Put it in the miker wave. 3. Wate intill it dings then take it out. 4. Put some shuger in just right. 5. Take a sip."

I've been asked to critique work by adult "writers" that wasn't much better at using the senses to paint a picture in the reader's mind. (And not much better spelling either, but we'll leave that to another time.)

As adults we instinctively know what a red rose should look like. We know what cat poop smells like. We know that the burner on a stove is hot when turned on. We recognize the sound of birds singing. Who can't describe the smooth sweetness of chocolate fudge? Many have known only too many hurts and points of anger.

To sell our work to a publisher, we must let our words paint the pictures invisibly, allowing the reader the option of coloring within the lines, or without. Let the reader see, hear, touch, feel, and taste without telling them they are doing it, or how it should be done.

To see - From The Pandora Key by Lynne Heitman (Simon and Schuster Pocket Books): "Lyle Burquart was at least six-foot four with dark, wiry hair that sat on his head like derelict shrubbery. His stooped shoulders were a perfect complement to his sad, aching eyes. With a gait that was more like a series of connected lunges, he made his way across the WBRS-we-do-sports-better-than-anyone lobby to greet me."

To hear - From Blue Valor by Illona Haus (Simon & Schuster Pocket Books): "She'd taken to keeping track of the sounds in the house.... Several times she heard power tools and hammering, the high-pitched whine of a saw screeching through what felt like the dead of night.... Her screams were merely white noise now. He had to block them out. Had to believe in the process. Believe in his Angel."

To touch - From Beloved Castaway by Kathleen Y'Barbo (Barbour): "She made quite the impression on you, lad"... "I was speaking of the mast, Captain." He pointed to Josiah's chin. The mast, that's the she what made the impression on yourself."... "You should have Cookie finish dressing the wound and any others you and Miss Gayarre found, or you'll soon find more misery than even that one can give you."... He paused to touch Josiah's sleeve. "And this time I am talking about the girl."

To feel - From The Grail Conspiracy by Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore (Midnight Ink): "A debilitating pain just above Cotton's eye sockets wracked her--similar to the pain that follows eating ice cream too quickly. But this was more intense, like glowing hot spikes driving through her skull, the muscles to her eyes--her very brain--cramping, burning. Cotton pressed the heal of her left hand to her forehead and cried out."

To taste - From Blood Harvest by Brant Randall (Capital Crime Press): "There are some who think possum is too gamy, and others who think it greasy, and some who think there's too many bones for so little flesh. I'm here to tell you that there isn't much to beat possum roasted over an open fire. We sucked the grease from our fingers and I saw Darnell skin the meat from the tail bone with his teeth. We didn't leave much but fur and fangs behind."

Sensory writing is painting pictures with our words, allowing the film to run through the projector of our reader's mind. To write without employing the senses is to force-feed inky alphabet soup, turning off the film, the pictures, and the heart of your story.

Quotes used by permission of the authors.