Sounds, sights, and smells are all part of creating an atmosphere.
‘The creation of the physical world is as crucial to your story as action and dialogue. If your readers can be made to see the glove without fingers or the crumpled yellow tissue, the scene becomes vivid. Readers become present. Touch, sound, taste and smell make readers feel as if their own fingers are pressing the sticky windowsill.
‘If you don’t create evocative settings, your characters seem to have their conversations in vacuums or in some beige nowhere-in-particular. Some writers love description too much. They go on and on as if they were setting places at the table for an elaborate dinner that will begin later on. Beautiful language or detailed scenery does not generate momentum. Long descriptions can dissipate tension or seem self-indulgent. Don’t paint pictures. Paint action.’ – Jerome Stern, Making Shapely Fiction
Bringing in sensory detail is a way to enrich a story with texture to create the fullness of experience, to make the reader be there.
What about you? Do you use the senses, apart from sight, to create atmosphere?
Libby Sommer, Author 
Question: are you talking to me? I love feedback, I just have gotten very little.
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Is there anything you’d like to ask re writing process? I’ll do my best to give a satisfying reply.
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I never took a writing class so I really don’t know about “the writing process”. Is my writing bad?
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The short answer is, no. I belong to two different writing groups to receive feedback on my work (as well as to give feedback). Writing is subjective. Depends who is reading it. I find getting a group of people to comment on my writing to be very useful.
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How do I get involved in writing groups
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Asking at a Writers Centre in your area, if you have one . Otherwise looking online for a face to face group or an online group. It can take awhile to find the right fit for you. Or start your own. Good luck.
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Reply to Libby Sommers
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Im writing a book and have consistently been told “show dont tell” but then im criticized for being too descriptive.
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Hi Chelsea, yes, hard to get the right balance with description. Does the description tell us something about the character or move the story forward?
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I apologize for the typos. I have a movement disorder that makes it nearly impossible to text, so I dictate and I don’t always take the time to make sure the grammar is correct. There’s also the issue of me not remembering my grammar classes, and not remembering exactly what I’m supposed to do. I figured I would rely heavily on a good editor.
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That makes sense, Chelsea.
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