Prepared by: Florence Cardinal
Posted on: Sun, 19 Aug 2001
Reposted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2002
The sense of smell influences our choices
and our thinking more
often
than e realize. In fact, it can even cause a complete change of heart.
For instance, you get on the bus and see
this terribly attractive
gentleman sitting there. You sit down beside him expecting the aroma of
a spicy aftershave. Instead, his strong body odor almost makes you gag.
Suddenly he isn't as attractive anymore.
Or perhaps it's the other way around.
Something that at first holds
little appeal - perhaps a person, a flower, a food you've never tried -
becomes more appealing when you get a whiff of its delightful scent.
Smell is the most evocative of all the
senses - the one most likely
to
bring back memories, for example. What if that man on the bus was
wearing aftershave, but it was the same brand as the woman's
ex-husband?
Suddenly, all the unpleasant memories are brought back, and the
attractive stranger becomes lost behind them. Or the aroma of roses
from a hidden garden brings back memories of a lost love.
Pursuing this further - are there
circumstances where body odor
might be
less unpleasant? Husband comes home from a hard day's work, wife savors
the honest scent of him (before sending him off to shower prior to
dinner.)
For this exercise, in 300 words or less,
describe how someone's mind
is
changed by the sense of smell.
Florence Cardinal's wrap-up
Posted on: Sun, 26 Aug 2001
Hi gang. That's it for this week's
exercise. And what a week it has
been. I
don't have the Stats, but I know that SUBS and CRITS have poured in.
Everyone seemed to have something definite to say on the sense of smell
and
how it affects our lives.
And such an array of scents! Liquor played
a part in several, as did
perfume
and after shave. Flowers were another popular aroma. Many of you
recalled
with various emotions medical and hospital smells. Only a couple of
people
used food as a basis for their exercise which rather surprised me. I
was
afraid this exercise would produce a cornucopia of mealtime aromas.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you
all did a fabulous job.
You've
proved that the sense of smell is very important in our emotional
exploration of life. Well done. A new exercise should be posted later
today.
Florence
Florence Cardinal's wrap-up
Posted on: September 23, 2002
What a variety of aromas this week. On the
bad side - things like
rotting fish, rotting bodies and urine. On the good side flowers, fresh
mowed grass and, one of my favorite smells - old books.
The majority of the exercises were well
done. Everyone followed the
guidelines and described the smells well.
And this all goes to show that everything
- all we see, feel, hear,
and
yes, even taste or feel, is fodder for our writer's mind. Use it all,
all your experiences. Weave it into the lives of your characters. These
are the things that make a story shine.
Florence
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