Why Writers Need Both Sense and Sensibility, the way Jane Austen Meant It

I was standing out on the patio this morning, facing the ocean, doing my morning stretches, when I started thinking, “how would I describe this in a book?” And I realized I’ve been missing a big opportunity. One of the ways fiction authors invite readers into the world they’ve created is by using sensory language. We’re all used to reading descriptions of what the viewpoint character sees around her, but what about the other four senses? How does it sound? Feel? Taste? Smell?