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Smell Write
Use Your Sense of Smell
The smell of decay surrounds you in October. A chilly wind rustles leaves and blows cold air down your back. You look up at the dark clouds that threaten snow and pull your collar tighter around your neck. You could write on and on because fall is ripe with description.
Smell the Sense
Many times, we write what we see and do. Sometimes we add a bit of what we hear and a dash of taste. It’s rare to get a flash of smell. Smell is powerful and I’m not only talking about rotting pumpkins. Scent is an important trigger of memory. That’s because our olfactory system is located in the same part of our brain that affects emotions, memory and creativity.
Use odour in writing your memoir. Describe smell along with the other senses in your scenes. If you’re out and about during Halloween, do you smell smoke from bonfires? Do you smell the sweet scent of chocolate from a piece of candy smashed on the sidewalk? Do you catch a whiff of dead leaves piled against a fence? Adding smell to your memoirs will bring your stories alive for your readers instead of boring them to death.