I am not a writer. Well, I suppose I am a writer. Just not a trained writer. Don’t get me wrong — I make an honest effort to use proper grammar, check my spelling, and generally assemble words in a manner that make them easy to read. I envy people for whom writing seems to come naturally. I just haven’t been formally trained in doing so.

However, in this, the era of the Throbbing Brain (i.e., the Internet), there is no shortage of articles out there designed to help aspiring writers like me. Actually I’m not really sure that I’m an “aspiring” writer, as that would imply that there is some overarching goal of the words that appear in this space. Which there isn’t.

I recently stumbled upon an article entitled Writing Gooder that I thought gave a nice summary of ways in which bloggers can improve their most important online skill: writing. While I definitely recognize the need for improved diction and grammar, I thought the section about adding detail was particularly fascinating. The author observes that many writers heavily rely on translating one sense (sight) into words, while often neglecting the others. I definitely fall prey to this trap, but honestly feel a bit silly talking about how things smell, taste, sound, and hear. My mastery of the english language is at a level where I feel like I sound silly trying to put these senses into words.

But if there is a time of year that lends itself to exploring the other senses, it is certainly this time of year. The holidays are an oppportunity to feast on a variety of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. So when you’re spending time with your family, hanging out by the Christmas tree, tucking in to that scrumptious Christmas feast, or soaking in the hot tub (as I hope to do a fair amount of), take a moment to appreciate it with all of your senses, and then share it with the rest of the Internet! Apparently it makes for good reading.