science

Sensation (fiction)

Sensation (fiction) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sensation (fiction) rather than just read about it. In short: Sensation is the fiction-writing mode for portraying a character's perception of the senses. According to Ron Rozelle, "...the success of your story or novel will depend on many things, but the most crucial is your ability to bring your reader into it.

Key takeaways

Sensation (fiction) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sensation (fiction) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sensation (fiction) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sensation is the fiction-writing mode for portraying a character's perception of the senses. According to Ron Rozelle, "...the success of your story or novel will depend on many things, but the most crucial is your ability to bring your reader into it. And that reader will be most completely in when you deliver the actual sensations of the many things that comprise your story" (Rozelle 2005, p. 76). As stated by Jessica Page Morrell, "You breathe life into fiction by translating the senses onto the page, producing stories rooted in the physical world ... that creates a tapestry, a galaxy of interwoven sensory ingredients." (Morrell 2006, p. 172) Also according to Rozelle, "The sensation of what something feels like is used to describe everything from sensual pleasure to pain and torture. It's a wide range, and your readers have actually experienced only some of those feelings. So your job is to either make them recall exactly what it feels like when something occurs in your story or, if they haven't experienced it, what it would feel like if they did" (Rozelle 2005, p. 86). Morrell describes a "sensory surround", which when "coupled with drama tugs the reader into [the] story and forces him to keep reading." (Morrell 2006, p. 173) The importance of conveying sensation in fiction is widely accepted. However, recognition of sensation as a distinct fiction-writing mode is a matter of discussion.

See also Fiction-writing modes Rhetorical modes Style (fiction)

References Morrell, Jessica Page (2006). Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-58297-393-7. Rozelle, Ron (2005). Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting. Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 1-58297-327-X.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sensation (fiction)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sensation (fiction) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sensation (fiction) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sensation (fiction) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sensation (fiction)

In research: Sensation (fiction) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sensation (fiction) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sensation (fiction) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Perception, Sensory systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sensation (fiction) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Sensation (fiction)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Sensation (fiction) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sensation (fiction) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sensation (fiction) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sensation (fiction) in simple terms?

Why does Sensation (fiction) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sensation (fiction)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sensation (fiction).