Open your mind and rediscover your senses. Bring to life the sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch in every piece you create. Don’t drag out your water colors – you won’t need it. Instead, we will paint with words.

"The black dog drank the cold water.”

"The puny, black dog, smelling of last night’s dinner, devoured the crisp, cool water flowing through the forest." Notice any difference?

I put myself in the scene with the dog. Yes, it was indeed a black dog drinking water, but by painting it up with some colorful descriptive words, we have a better understanding of not only what the dog was doing, but how he was doing it. Painting with words displays a clearer focus as to what’s going on. Show your readers the story – don’t tell them about.

Liven up drab pieces of work. Go back through your words and look for nouns. Are they giving your readers a clear picture of what you’re trying to describe, or are they too bland? Think of a car, book, man, or a house. Try switching these nouns into more specific ones like a 1979 rusty old Dodge, Gone with the wind, President George Washington, and Mr. Morgan’s log house.

Then, take a closer look at adjectives. Do you see a lot of plain words, such as good, bad, mean, or great? If so, spruce them up! How about mouth watering, repulsive, devilish, and grandest? You will be surprised at the difference this creates in your writing. If you’re not allowing passion to flow into your work, your readers will be able to tell. So go ahead and show your readers what you’ve known along! Paint your picture with words.