February 24th, 2010
Come to your Senses
To me, being in a wild world with so many sights, sounds, odors, tastes and textures is a little like walking down dusty paths of a renaissance festival and being bombarded with the scent of apple dumplings and roasted turkey legs while my ears buzz with pan flutes and tambourines, all as I’m touching velvety lamb’s ears and then hard, exotic handcrafted jewelry. But there is more. Yes, taste, we must include that. How about fresh corn crepes smothered in cream and then chocolate doused strawberries for dessert?
Oh, enough, enough! I’m ready for a festival, how about you? Yeah, I know. It’s still too cold. Until then, I’ll attempt to warm up our rich creamy layers of writing. Each post will focus on a different sense and I might even bring in that rowdy SIXTH SENSE to round everything up. Okay lords and ladies, let’s begin with scent, shall we?
What is that smell?
What springs to mind here are Sunday suppers, pork loin dotted with rosemary, the scent of raisins and stuffing and spice exploding each time the oven door opens.
Aroma’s, rather delightful or not, invoke memories.
If you have a keen sniffer, you might also be able to detect a storm before it arrives. The earth is different then, soil sighing and humidity yelling. Did you know moisture heightens our sense of smell? It does. And were you aware women have a keener sense of smell? They do. As we age, our sense of smell weakens, though. Middle age is peek smelling season. I vote we all stay middle aged. Oh, wait, too late for me.
Did you ever notice that houses have layers of odors? I remember an old farmhouse we lived in, which smelled of plants, laundry detergent, and an undercurrent of all previous owners combined. It’s as though scent embeds itself into walls and floors.
In developing characters and their environments, we can see how smell could be a vivid way to make a story breathe. If we are writing about a house full of men, scents will be different. I’m telling you,I know these things. I have brothers. The masculinity, shall we say, does shout smoke, spice and sweat.
On the other side of the road, where mostly females reside, you’ll find the staggering scents of cinnamon, lavender oil, powder, perfume and candles. Of course there will be fruity odors mixed in and funky, too, depending on whether they keep a clean house and if they cook.
So, if we want our characters to live and remember that they have lived, scent is one worthy tool. It is exactly why, when I smell baby powder, I can be yanked back to a morning, fifteen years ago, baby on my lap. She has just finished her oatmeal and given me an open-mouthed kiss on the cheek, leaving a smear. There is sticky oatmeal in my hair, too, left from chubby fingers grabbing to draw me close. I can still hear her coo at the birds, so early my eyes are barely slit open, but yet I’m chattering to her and overwhelmed with tenderness. Yes, baby powder can snap me back that fast.
Our world is one big, smelly memory.
This week I’m taking my basket of scent and sprinkling it throughout my work. How about you? What particular scent fires up your memory?
February 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Dorraine, you know how perfect the timing of this post is (for me – all about me ya know).
Yes, scents can take us back to times gone by in a heartbeat. Every time I smell Old Spice I think of my daddy, slapping the aftershave on, quite heavily, after shaving. I love my daddy, but that smell chokes me to death – I hate it.
Another smell I can’t stand is orange bubble gum. I once made myself very sick by cramming an entire pack of orange Hubba Bubba in my mouth, so every time I smell orange bubble gum I feel the need to puke.
Smelling roses reminds me of my grandmother – she’s always used rose water for perfume. That’s a scent I love.
Interesting – as I was interviewing a character for my novel the other day scent is one of the first things I thought to ask about. Seems he smells of froot loops and marijuana – huh, okay… I’m kind of leary of this character, but they are what they are, nothing we can do about it.
I absolutely love that photo of the dress. It looks like something I would’ve worn in my wilder days, festival or no, (as if I needed to tell you that).
Gosh, my comment is almost as long as your post! Sorry, but you inspire me to no end.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
great post, so often we all need to be reminded of smell and how it triggers memory…
right now it’s mimeograph (sp?) pages of school assignments and the purple ink that carried the scent
yeah you smell it too
February 24th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Your new character sounds like he’s got a wild little streak. Do follow him around and see what he’s up to!
Thanks, and I’m glad you liked the post. Sometimes just one particular scent can convey so much about us or our characters.
Hubba Bubba! I used to buy that stuff and see how much I could cram in my mouth, too. All for the sheer pleasure of blowing a big ole bubble. It was the best for that.
Roses, well, most flowers, remind me of my mother in the garden. Actually, the smell and feel of soil, too. She was an avid gardener who transformed her yard and home into a work of art.
Maybe it’s why I loved to garden so much.
Oh, the dress. I saw that and wanted one for myself. You would look smashing in that color, Deanna.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
The purple ink is smelling up my office, Paige. I can not only smell it but see the vivid color.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:39 am
What a beautiful post Dorraine. (The dress is glorious. I want one!)
Deanna mentioned Old Spice. That scent always reminds me of my
GranDa. He wore it religiously. And of course the baby powder is a
wonderful portal to precious times. I also love the smell of freshly brewed
tea, and toasted bread. That reminds me, it’s time for breakfast!
Talking about festivals. The Charro days festival starts in full swing today
in Brownsville. It is a festival celebrating the friendship between the city
and its neighbor across the bridge in Mexico, Matamoros. There will be
big colorful floats, costumes, concerts, and parties for the next four days.
Thank goodness the weather has started to warm up and the sun is shinning.
Elizabeth
February 25th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Old Spice-I can see why that would trigger a memory. I’ve never heard of the Charro festival but it sound like a grand time. I hope you get to go. Yes, we should all have that dress!