All the Senses

I'm rewriting a novel for hire, and one of the notes I received on my first draft was "more physical descriptions." I've seen the illustrations for the book (a children's novel attached to an on-line game), so I didn't think physical descriptions were that important. In fact, I don't particularly like long descriptive passages that bog down the story. So I was struggling with how to address my note for the rewrite. Another writer friend gave me a tip. Here it is:

TIP: Some of the most powerful physical descriptions aren't the way people and things look. Use all the senses, including sounds, smells, tastes, sensations like temperature and texture, and the 6th sense.

So, when I introduced a 35-year-old woman into the action line of the novel I sprinkled in a note about her age. But I didn't say anything else about her looks. When she entered the room another key character "relaxed." Then the text describes her quite simply:

"She radiated peaceful energy and she smelled like lavender."

Later in the chapter there's a phrase "her dark, fringed hair" and a few paragraphs down two words about her clothing, "simple robe," but the sentence that introduces her relies on senses other than sight.

Thanks for the tip, Lucy!