When you write, you want to capture everything that’s going on and take your reader right into the story or the memory. One of the best ways to do that is to use your senses. Don’t tell just what you see, but share what you smell, what you hear, what you taste, what you can touch. Use this technique as your journaling, either in sentence form or as a list, or just as a tool to organize your thoughts and think about your photos in a different way. Here's my son Sam with his Millenium Falcon birthday cake I made him (and his Auntie Wren): And here's how I can use my senses to start my journaling: AS A LIST SIGHT: The awe and excitement on Sam's face SMELL: The fiery smell of the candles burning SOUND: The laughter and the Happy Birthday song TOUCH: DON'T TOUCH until it's time to cut! TASTE: Sweet tastes for my sweet boy AS A STORY Here it comes, Sam, your birthday cake. SEE how excited you were -- what a look on your face. I knew you'd like it. SMELL the fiery flame of the candles, you're 9 years old today. Your laughter SOUNDS so happy as we SING the birthday song. WAIT! Don't TOUCH that icing just yet -- it's almost time to cut your piece. Mmmm. Your favourite icing and super-moist cake TASTES so good. Happy Birthday Sam! Now it's your turn! Take a photo you haven't scrapped yet and a piece of paper. Write down the five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste and Touch. Then write down something about your photo that goes with each sense. Don't take too much time -- 5 minutes should do it. Just go with your instinct. And don't worry if you can't get all five senses (some can be tricky, depending on the photo) but do as much as you can. Happy Writing!