A 10-minute writing task - The TOUCH of rain

🌧️ Week Thirteen Writing Challenge! 🌧️
A wonderfully tactile task this week — perfect for ten minutes of creative focus while the rain patters at the window.

Since many of us have spent today stepping around puddles, shaking off dripping coats, and listening to the steady drumming on the roof, it felt like the ideal moment to explore the sense of touch.
Last week we looked at ice through colour; this week we’re switching senses again and examining how rain feels — and how those sensations can shape the atmosphere of a story.

Rain is brilliant for storytelling. The way you describe it can completely change the mood: a lively, playful drizzle creates energy, while a cold, hammering downpour can make a scene feel tense or even unsettling. Touch isn’t just physical — it can be emotional too, guiding the tone and pace of a piece of writing.

To help get started, here’s a word bank and a few example sentences to spark ideas.

🌦️ Word Bank

Textures & Sensations:
cool, sharp, misty, tingly, prickling, splashy, soft, drumming, feather-light, bouncy, heavy

Rain Descriptions:
drizzling, pouring, pattering, whispering, soaking, mist-spray, downpour, steady fall, relentless rain

Atmosphere / Mood Words:
calm, lively, restless, cosy, tense, stormy, eerie, energetic, refreshing

Figurative Language Ideas:
• Simile: The rain slid across my skin like cold silk.
• Personification: The raindrops danced eagerly across the path.
• Metaphor: A curtain of rain separated me from the world beyond.
• Onomatopoeia: Drip, drop, patter
• Alliteration: A sudden surge of silver showers

📝 10-Minute Task:
Write 3–4 sentences describing how rain feels — on your hands, face, coat sleeves, or as it lands on puddles, leaves, windows, or umbrellas.
Focus on touch, but also think about how your description affects the mood: does your rain feel peaceful, dramatic, threatening, or full of movement?

✨ Example Sentences:
• The first drops felt sharp and cool against my skin, quick and alert, as if the sky had suddenly woken up.
• A drifting mist brushed across my face, so light it seemed to blur the edges of the world.
• Heavy rain hammered against my jacket, each drop thudding with a tense, urgent rhythm.
• When I opened my hand, the rain gathered and swirled in my palm, restless and determined to escape.

Happy writing, everyone! ✍️

Anna Donovan
Qualified Teacher (QTS 2005)
Specialist 11+ Exam Essay & Creative Writing Tutor