Writing prompt #39: AMPLIFYING YOUR SENSES

Hi Everyone,

Years ago I read (and reread) Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral,” which culminates with an insecure, narrow-minded man trying to describe a cathedral to his wife’s blind friend. It’s a beautiful moment, unexpected yet earned, and it got me thinking about our own tendencies to privilege one sense over the others when we write. For many of us, that privileged sense is usually sight.

YOUR PROMPT: Choose your least utilized sense—touch, hearing, taste, smell (or even sight). Then select 2-3 pages of work-in-progress and weave in your most neglected sense. Go all out with this (you can always rein it in later) and watch how your piece evolves with this new sensory emphasis.

Feel free to try this in other parts of your work. Or start a brand-new piece that’s driven by a neglected sense.

Have fun!

Abrazos,

Cristina