• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • About WHW
    • Press Kit
    • Resident Writing Coaches
    • Contact Us
    • Podcasts & Interviews
    • Master Storytelling Newsletter
    • Guest Post Guidelines
    • Privacy Policy
    • Charities & Support
  • Bookstore
    • Bookstore
    • Foreign Editions
    • Book Reviews
    • Free Thesaurus Sampler
  • Blog
  • Software
  • Workshops
  • Resources
    • List of Resources
    • Recommended Writing Books
    • WHW Descriptive Thesaurus Collection
    • Free Tools & Worksheets
    • Grab A Free Show-Dont-Tell Pro Pack
  • WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Setting Thesaurus Entry: Grocery Store

July 25, 2009 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Sight

Isles of shelving, bright florescent lighting, end displays of popular products (soup cans, chips, BBQ sauce, cereal, etc), sale signs, banners with store mottoes (“Freshness guaranteed” or “Shop and Save!” etc), isle signs stating product location, rows and rows of household products (toilet tissue, cleaners, dish washing liquid, bleach, laundry soap…

Sounds

Background music on speakers (usually an easy listening radio station), rattle of bags, cashiers calling for price checks, the bleep of items being scanned at checkouts, squeaky cart wheels, the whoosh of air conditioning and electronic doors opening and closing..

Smells

Fresh baked bread goods (yeasty & buttery or spices: cinnamon, ginger, savories, etc), roasting chickens (spices and char), a sweet aroma coming off fresh ripe fruit, air conditioning, sample stations serving up toasted/fried appetizer type foods or sausage..

Tastes

Samples from sample booths (sausage, cinnamon buns or other sweets, appetizer foods in pastries, drink samples), opening a bag of chips or crackers to snack on as you shop or at the cash out, gum, mints, candies, coffee brought to the store

Touch

The cold metal carts, squeezing a loaf of bread, the papery smoothness of a potato or pear, checking for brown spots or bruises, bringing a pineapple up to the nose to smell, squeezing fruit, icy cold against the palms and fingers as you grab a bag of frozen corn…

Helpful hints:

–The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.

Example 1: Hell in the grocery store world is the candy isle. It doesn’t matter what time it is, opening or closing, invariably I will wheel my overflowing cart through the colorful containers of licorice and jelly beans, gritting my teeth as I listen to the hysterical wailing of a toddler bent on having that big bag of gummy bears. It’s almost enough to put me off sugar, and definitely enough to put me off ever having kids…

–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.

Example 1: (Simile) After I finish loading the last stack of frozen Weight Watcher meals onto the conveyor belt, the colorful display of chocolate bars beside the checkout draws my eye like a hundred banners saying, Go ahead! Cheat! Cheat…

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers

Logo-OneStop-For-Writers-25-smallSetting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers. Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict, people commonly found in these locales, and setting-specific notes and tips, and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing a free sample of this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.

The Setting Thesaurus DuoOn the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too, because both books are now available for purchase in digital and print copies. In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.

Bookmark and Share

ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angela says

    July 31, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    Thanks, guys. This one was pretty easy for me–I worked in a grocery store as a teen.

    Angela

  2. Mary Witzl says

    July 28, 2009 at 5:05 pm

    Wish I’d had dinner before I started reading this! Lovely descriptions, especially when we got to the smells section…

  3. Marian says

    July 27, 2009 at 10:15 am

    I like the description “a frilly vegetable”. Now each time I go to the grocery store I’m going to see green frills. 🙂

    I don’t buy the bagged salads, so it didn’t occur to me that people had to check those for rot. You learn something new…

Trackbacks

  1. Setting Thesaurus Entry Collection | WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS says:
    December 12, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    […] Grocery Store […]

Primary Sidebar


Welcome!

Writing is hard. Angela & Becca make it easier. Get ready to level up your fiction with game-changing tools, resources, and advice.

Follow Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe to the Blog

Check your inbox to confirm! If gremlins tried to eat it, you might have to check your spam folder.

Read by Category

Grab Our Button

Writers Helping Writers

Software that Will Change the Writing Game

One Stop for Writers

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS® · Copyright © 2023 · WEBSITE DESIGN BY LAUGH EAT LEARN

Cookies are delicious and ours help make your experience here better. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with our cookie use. Cookie settingsGOT IT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. More on our Privacy Policy here.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...