In a post on the Killzone blog, Terry Odell offers advice for incorporating the sense of touch in your fiction. Some common sensations to consider include:
- Weight
- Smooth or rough
- Bumpy or deep indentations
- Solid or pliable
- Warm, hot, or cold
Also consider how your character reacts to pain and other everyday touch sensations. “Are you describing the sensations of walking barefoot through the mud?” Odell says. “Trying to get a handhold on a slick surface? What about on the rough stones as the character tries to climb to safety?” If your story drops your character into a darkened place, their sense of touch will become more predominant. Here are over 200 descriptive words to describe those experiences.
Odell also notes the importance of your character’s emotional reaction to what they feel. Does their experience trigger a visceral reaction or a memory? “When your character picks up a firearm, it might be feel cool, hard, maybe the grip is rough in his palm,” Odell writes. “Does picking up the weapon give him a sense of power? Of calmness, knowing he’s now in charge? Or is it an unwelcome foreign object?”
Finally, she notes that senses don’t occur one at a time or in single file. “The feel of rough burlap when the bad guy puts a hood over his victim will intersect with the sense of smell,” Odell writes. “Use both to add depth to your story.”
