We've been talking about creating a sensual writing environment, and today we're concentrating on the sense of smell. Are you aware of the smells around you?
You know I share the office with cat litter and a guinea pig, so I'm a hypocrite for even writing on this topic! But smells do affect me, especially homey smells like cinnamon, apples and vanilla. I appreciate fresh air whether the scent of freshly cut grass wafts in or not. What about the subtle smells--the faint paint odor and the distinctive smell of carpet--do they subconsciously affect my writing?
My daily cups of coffee wreath the office in a rich, decadent smell. Erica, who writes the terrific On the Write Path blog, relies on her beloved Earl Grey tea to write. When she mentioned it, I went ahead and picked up a tin. The spicy aroma teases my senses.
Have you ever played around with aromatherapy? Several years ago, I became intrigued with blending my own oils, and I still have many of them. Peppermint, cloves, rose, rosemary, lemongrass, lavender, anise--each gives off a unique smell and sparks a feeling within. The freshness of peppermint lightens me, brightens me. The husky deepness of cloves makes me yearn for candlelight.
Currently, my favorite odor in the office is the smell of a fresh-lit match followed by the melting of a scented candle. The guinea pig bedding is my least favorite. I may dust off the essential oils to override it. I know there's an essential oil burner in the closet somewhere!
It's fun to play around with smells when you're writing. Linger in a candle store and think about the feelings each candle evokes. Try an exotic votive for a frugal thrill. Purposely light a candle to match the mood of the scene you're working on. When you're finished, analyze if it helped your writing or not.
Join me on Wednesday when we'll discuss the sense of sound.
Smell is so powerful, and one we often neglect in scene setting. It can transport you immediately back to childhood or put you in a totally different mood. Lavender for sleep, coffee for alertness, Old Spice to make you think of your beloved grandpa.
ReplyDeleteEnjoying your post series.
I always tease my husband by telling him I'm a smeller. But really, that is probably one of my most powerful senses. I like the idea of lighting a candle while I write. Wonder if my writing will turn out more waxy and dripping with sarcasm...sorry Monday morning humor.
ReplyDelete:D
~ Wendy
Last night I was writing a scene that took place inside an old gym and had quite a lot of fun describing the sweaty-foot smell that seeped into their pores and couldn't be scrubbed off with just a single shower.
ReplyDeleteSmells are a great way to communicate with your reader!
I took my littlest ones to pick out new cologne for daddy for fathers day and that was an experience! They sprayed every single bottle in the dept. store and by the end, I was quite woozy. I think the perfume counter in a dept. store would make a fantastic scene in a novel.
ReplyDeleteSmell is such a powerful sense! Above sight, I try to use this one a lot (though I could definitely do more) because it can evoke such strong images. My favorite is lavender--and I really love jasmine. Oh, and anything apple :D
ReplyDeleteThe use of non-visual senses really adds a lot to writing, and I think most people don't use it enough. Writer Mary Yukari Waters, I've noticed, has great sounds in much of her writing. I'm always impressed when someone can do it well.
ReplyDeleteAngie: I love the Old Spice bringing you back to Grandpa--too true!
ReplyDeleteWendy: I needed that laugh!! Thanks!
Megan Rebekah: Ew! I think I can smell that sweaty sock through the Internet--hilarious!
Tess: I had that same experience last year. Did they spray the perfumes on the little cards? I found several conflicting scents tucked away in an old billfold. I warned you!
Cindy: Your fave scents are mine too. I just found a recipe for apple brownies. Doesn't that sound delicious??
Davin: I'm impressed when writers incorporate scents too. My writing tends to focus on sights and actions so I'm consciously trying to weave in the other senses.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
When I was trying to add the sense of smell to various scenes, my editor would stop me and ask me to describe the scent better. And I had a really hard time describing smells without being cliche. I like your idea of having aromatherapy, oils, and candles of various scents. I particularly needed to describe the smell of vomit in one of my scenes. I wonder if they make an oil for that one!? ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the smell of vanilla and a just lit match, too. One of my favorite smells is when you get near a barn. I know, but the memories are rich. None of this affects my writing. It just adds pazzazz to life.
ReplyDeleteJody: Vomit? Heh-heh! I can't help you there. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNancy: I love farm smells too. Brings back happy memories...
Thanks for stopping by!
I love the smell of vanilla--mmmm but only enjoy the smell of a clean house when I write:) So I don't have to think about what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI have a candle that smells like sugar cookies. It's DIVINE.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Christmas time when I have the pine and apple scented candles around. Perhaps I'll try pulling one of those out when I work on my new chapter. I don't know about finding a smell for go-cart racing though. That would be more toxic than the guinea pig cage me thinks. LOL
ReplyDeleteTerri: Ahh, vanilla. One of my favorites too! That clean house smell does set the writing mood, doesn't it? Too bad my house has that just-cut-up-a-ton-of-fruit smell right now!
ReplyDeleteMelissa: Is it a Yankee Candle? Because I had a small YC in Sugar Cookie by my bedside for a year. Every day I woke up to that heavenly scent. Oh, now I have to go and get a new one!!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Here's my problem with smells. If I were to put, say, a vanilla or sugar cookie type candle on my desk... I would get no writing done. Because all I'd be able to think about would be how much I want to go bake cookies. Or how much I want to eat vanilla pudding.
ReplyDeleteSo I have to be very careful with my smells. Something incredibly subtle and soething that won't make me want to eat through my cupboards. :)
Katie: Ha! I know. Chocolate gets to me! Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love pretty smells, but it makes it hard for me to concentrate. When you've got three kids in diapers, you notice the pretty smells. ;-)
ReplyDeleteDanyelle: The diaper smells definitely override the pretty smells! Don't worry, the diaper stage doesn't last long!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
Jill: Thanks for a delightful post!
ReplyDeleteWe read an article in National Geographic several years ago that said smell is the sense that elicits the strongest memories in the brain.
There are even people whose job it is to test deodorants--- on the testees---ugh!
Happy Smells,
Jen
Jeanette: What a job! I couldn't be the deoderant smeller. No way!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
Hey, Jill, watch out for that Earl Grey, it's addicting!
ReplyDeleteI once read a passage in an Essie Summers book where the hero was an author and in talking to the heroine, they discussed how if he wrote "The heroine stopped by a bush" it gave the reader one image, but if he wrote "The heroine stopped by a lilac" suddenly you could smell the almost over-sweet perfume, see the purple blossoms, and remember how every spring, a mason jar of lilacs sat on elementary school tearchers' desks across the country.
It reminded me that using just the write word could evoke so much in the reader when you drew in their senses.
I'm really enjoying this series on your blog. :)
Erica: Wow--good stuff! Isn't it true? The word lilac brings the color, the potent and heavy smell, even the time of year to mind.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! And I'll blame you for my new Earl Grey addiction!