Writers Be Aware: There Are More Than Five Senses
You know the drill, when you write, appeal to the reader’s five senses — sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.
But researchers tell us that there are more than five senses, maybe many more.
Remember when gymnast Simone Biles dropped out the of the Olympics because she “got lost in the air,” something she also called the “twisties.” She lost the sense of where her body is in the air. This is called proprioception or the sense of place.
Suppose you, as a writer, chose to focus on a character’s making use of one of the lesser-know senses (at least lesser known to writers)? I haven’t made use of this technique yet, but it’s one I’d like to try.
If you want to focus on one of the senses that scientists are researching, this is a list of a few of them:
Proprioception — the sense of place created by an awareness of motion and your body’s position in space. This is the sense we use when touch typing without looking at the keyboard or jump rope without looking at either the rope or our feet.
Equilibrioception — sense of balance. This is what keeps us upright, and helps us make our way around without getting hurt. Equilibrioception involves the vestibular system, the visual system (sight) and proprioception, all working together.
Interoception — signals from your internal organs, such as your heart, stomach, muscles or bladder. Are you hungry or is your heart racing?.
Thermoception — Sensory neurons enable us to judge whether our environment is too cold or too hot. It is what causes us to turn on an electric blanket or take off a sweater.
Nociception — the ability to notice painful stimuli. There are other causes of pain, but this sense help humans avoid, for example, tissue damage from fire or sharp objects.
Chronoception — how we sense the passing of time. How humans perceive the time between two events is subjective and can be influenced by many factors. For example, time may seem to slow down or speed up during a crisis.
Have you, as a writer, made use of these or other senses? How did you do so? Send me message or comment to let me know.
Originally published at https://carolleaclark.medium.com/writers-be-aware-there-are-more-than-five-senses-96220a69f362 on Dec. 9, 2022