The creative mind is romanced into working when you woo it with sensory input. Every time you sit down at your desk, put yourself into your story with this sensory checklist.

1. Think about the season—is it spring, summer, fall, winter?
2. What time of day is it—morning, daytime, evening, night?
3. What are the weather conditions—dry, raining, snowy, cloudy, hailing, lightning, sunny, moonlit?
4. What can your character hear—a clock ticking, birds chirping, radio playing…what is the song, pots and pans rattling, car, truck, motorcycle rumbling, children playing?
5. What can your character smell—flowers, sewage, a cake baking, cologne, soap, motor oil, apricot jam, gardener’s mulch, sea water, country air, dusty road, chemicals?
6. What are your character’s hands doing—sawing a board, wiping a face, squeezing a lemon, spraying a water hose, tightening a wrench, typing, painting?
7. What does your character want—a drink of water, a Whopper, to get moving, stop working, catch a bus, find his keys, find a matching pair of socks, get a hair cut?

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