A fun project for you: Describe autumn

 

Autumn is here!

 

Well . . . on the calendar, anyway.

 

In our state summer weather has dominated autumn, but we did have two frosts recently. Temps have been in the eighties since then, but the frosts have inspired leaves to begin changing colors. Soon, it seems, autumn will be here to stay.

 

And that has me thinking . . .

 

Do any of your memoir’s stories take place in autumn?

If so, now is an ideal time to gather words

to describe those scenes.

 

Sensory details:

sounds, smells, textures, sights, and tastes.

 

Such rich details invite readers to join you in your story

and to experience what you experienced.

 

In addition, sensory details can send readers back in time

and revive memories of their own similar experiences.

 

That, in turn, enables readers 

to have an emotional connection with you.

Bonding is good.

 

Here, then, is the task before you:

Study autumn details around you this month and next.

Make time to stir up memories of:

• what autumn sounded like in your story,
• what it smelled like,
• what textures and temperatures your skin felt,
• what autumn details you saw with your eyes,
• and the unique tastes and flavors of autumn.

 

Embrace this lovely advice from Judith Barrington:

 

“When you write, ‘. . . it’s always a good idea to get up very close and start using your senses. . . . describing some of the details, using your ears and eyes, calling up a smell that belongs to the story, or reaching an imaginary hand back through time to touch a piece of furniture, or the texture of a dress, or someone’s skin. . . .’” (Writing the Memoir)

 

With these points in mind, you’ll enjoy Elizabeth Stout’s description of a minister taking an autumn drive on a back road “with the window down, his elbow resting on the window edge, ducking his head to peer . . . at the side of a barn, fresh with red paint, lit by this autumn sun. . . . when every flicker of light that touched the dipping branches of a weeping willow, every breath of breeze that bent the grass toward the row of apple trees, every shower of yellow gingko leaves dropping to the ground with . . . direct and tender sweetness. . . .” (from Abide with Me)

 

Set aside time to find words to make the following come alive for readers:

• the sound of leaves crunching underfoot—or if the ground was wet, the sound of squishy, soggy, damp leaves
• the smell of wet leaves on the ground, that earthy smell that drifts up from plant life dying and rotting and getting moldy
• the scent of leaves that are crisp and brittle in the sunshine, disbursing a spicy—maybe even sweet—perfume
• the fragrance as well as taste of pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice candles, (nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice)
• the taste of Halloween Candy, Thanksgiving turkey, and caramel apples
• the smell or the sight of woodsmoke filling the air from fireplaces or bonfires
• the feel of icy fingers and a cold, runny nose

 

Here’s another idea: Get creative in describing colors. Instead of calling autumn leaves “red,” describe them as “crimson.”

 

Instead of “reddish-brown,” try “auburn” or “rusty.”

 

To describe something that’s golden yellow-orange, consider using “amber.”

 

If something was “brown,” describe it as “cinnamon brown” or “coffee colored.”

 

Instead of “orange,” think about “tangerine.”

 

For more ideas, click on Color and Pattern Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers.

 

Here’s a final tidbit to enthuse you:

 

Houston journalist, TV reporter, and author, Tom Abrahams, said:

 

“I was always amazed by how somebody

could tell a story that I could see inside my head,

and that could take me somewhere else.”

 

Be inspired by Tom:

 

Use sensory details  to tell a story

readers can see inside their heads—

and more:

that they can also hear, smell, feel, and taste.

 

Invite them to join you in your story, or,

as Tom said it: Take readers there with you.