Sensory descriptions - good, bad or gamey?

​I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here, but I suspect the closest might be gamey (or, yes, gamy) - as Star-Lord would say, a bit of both.

We need to know what the detective sees and smells at the crime scene. We may be interested in the textures of that sex scene, or even the tastes (although the smells, I suspect, not so much). And if your character is cracking up in the city street, those sounds - or missing sounds - are going to be pivotal. But if it's not the point of the scene, do we really need to share the full-on, piquant, throbbing, sensory experience? Primary school teachers says yes. Creative writing tutors, no.

To the rescue, once again, comes a writing challenge from Chris Fielden's website, this one called Allen's Sensory Overload Challenge. As the name makes plain, it's an opportunity to overdo the sensations and, in the process, to highlight where you might need to exercise more restraint in your 'proper' writing. Or not. Give it a go - it's free and in a good cause. My contribution is Story 065.

---