Travel Writing Tips: Add Sensory Details

One of the best things you can do to make your travel blog vivid and memorable is to include plenty of sensory details. Using your five senses allows you to transform a story from a boring, one-sided show-and-tell to a completely different experience in which readers can imagine they’re right there with you.

Close your eyes and imagine the scene you want to show as fully as possible. Write about what you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. Your reader should be able to imagine everything as you describe it. Don’t stick with trite, overused phrases like “sky blue” and “feather-soft.” Instead, use your own thoughts and observations to surprise and delight your audience. If that first-edition Hemingway you picked up in Mozambique smelled like Aunt Ruth’s attic, say it. If the sky was blue that day, however, your reader doesn’t need to know if it’s not relevant to the story.

When you’re working with sensory details, also remember to keep your tone in mind. Don’t start with a joke about living in a van down by the river and then talk about a cerulean sky canopying a group of newborn foals with skin as soft as butter. Your details should be rich and interesting, but they also should stay consistent with the tone.

On the other hand, while sensory details can make your prose beautiful and immersive, too much detail can annoy your audience. Save the bulk for important or meaningful moments, and make sure each detail matters and isn’t something obvious—such as puppies being cute or rainbows being colorful.

Featured image via Unsplash.