tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post1562956536721017199..comments2023-08-15T05:06:03.233-06:00Comments on The Writing Sisterhood: Smell DiscriminationThe Sisterhoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09889577041903181315noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-49948135057261678742012-11-10T21:11:09.851-07:002012-11-10T21:11:09.851-07:00You know, one of the funny things about that book ...You know, one of the funny things about that book is that you never find out why she stinks! After I finished the book I was like, yeah ok, so this happened to Frank and April, and that other guy was crazy, but what the heck was that "rancid" smell???? :D<br /><br />I love that book not because of the plot, but because of the characterization. That writer was a master at getting you inside the head of his characters.Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-34531504276761928272012-11-10T21:04:24.793-07:002012-11-10T21:04:24.793-07:00I agree with you that the bus driver may have been...I agree with you that the bus driver may have been overreacting (unless someone passed out, ha!) though I know what you mean by those toxic diapers. Still, the alternative (kicking a pregnant woman with a sick child out of the bus) seems worse than dealing with the stench, especially because it's something totally out of the mom and baby's control. You know, Ecuadorian buses (and markets) are perhaps the stinkiest of all places in the world and I've survived! <br /><br />I don't know that I've ever smelled mildew (I'm not sure how that translates to Spanish).<br /><br />In agreement regarding Sister Mary's descriptions. :-)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-71664194017572097482012-11-10T20:54:17.273-07:002012-11-10T20:54:17.273-07:00I had forgotten all about "Scent of a Woman&q...I had forgotten all about "Scent of a Woman". Thanks for reminding me! I love that movie. You know, there are sopaipillas in NM too, but they're not stuffed and we pour honey on top. (I understand sopaipillas in Chile are stuffed?)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-43871819630196647952012-11-07T08:50:17.052-07:002012-11-07T08:50:17.052-07:00Love this topic! Thank you, Sister Steph, for your...Love this topic! Thank you, Sister Steph, for your comments about my manuscript. I love smells in a novel. I know in my second novel I have my character smoking a lot (I have cut back on some of her smoking scenes just so the reader doesn't feel the MC will drop dead of lung cancer at any moment), but smoking is a strong smell from my childhood. My father was a smoker, and I always remember when he'd come down and pick us up for the weekends. The first thing he'd do was light a cigarette and to this day I love that first smell of a lit cigarette. It's much different than the overwhelming smell of the smoke. Plus, my father was always a big Pepsi drinker, so I always associate that with the cigarette smoke. I'm actually never offended when a character smokes in a book or film, especially if it's timely.<br /><br />On another note, The Witches makes me laugh. That passage you quoted scared the crap out of my daughter! She didn't finish the book, knowing now what to look for! I also love Revolutionary Road, and although I'd never thought about it before, I think some of the smell descriptions are really what made me enjoy the novel. I find Shep's description of his wife's odor very telling about his marriage and why he is always drawn to April.<br /><br />This post makes me think of one of the few short stories I've read and enjoyed -- "The Scent of Cinnamon." The name kind of says it all, but I think because that's the title, I've always remembered the story.<br /><br />The five senses are crucial to any novel. I learned that a long time ago. So, any struggling writer out there wondering why perhaps the audience isn't connecting to his/her work might want to look at the sensory details in their manuscript.Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-32619768536877956652012-11-05T10:54:12.266-07:002012-11-05T10:54:12.266-07:00It sounds like the bus driver was overreacting, bu...It sounds like the bus driver was overreacting, but if the stink was making people gag or something, possibly it was justifiable. I've been around diapers that really ought to have been handled by a HazMat team. Still, making that poor woman and her sick baby walk -- it would have had to be pretty extreme. Did you know that in some countries, they've banned the durian fruit from public buses? I've had it, and it's pretty stinky, but less stinky than a diaper. (Tastes oddly good, though. Very strange fruit.)<br /><br />One of my favorite things from our own Mary Mary's book (the one set during the 20s) was her use of smell descriptions, particularly related to cooking. Every time she'd describe coffee or bacon, I felt like I was right there in that farmhouse. It was very evocative for me, and one of the things I remember best about the manuscript.<br /><br />I love the excerpts you provided here, Lorena: they are also great examples of smell description, which does seem to be an underrated type of description in fiction!<br /><br />One of my favorite smells, which probably doesn't translate to people who don't live in deserts, is the smell of rain in the desert. I also loved the smell of my grandmother's basement in Philadelphia, not realizing until I was much older that it was the smell of mildew. :) (We don't have mildew in the desert!)<br /><br />Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-70738317976018845772012-11-04T11:41:43.354-07:002012-11-04T11:41:43.354-07:00When I was a librarian back I the early 90’s, ther...When I was a librarian back I the early 90’s, there was a huge debate about homeless in public libraries. We couldn´t throw them out even if they stank up to high heaven. It stinks, but apparently, you have the right to reek, so nobody can kick you, your babies or pets out of a public building or vehicle.<br />Aromas are very important in our lives as well as in fiction. Marcel Proust entire Remembrances of Things Past begins after the smell of a Madeleine sends the author in a trip down memory lane. The film “Scent of a Woman” has a blind colonel played by Al Pacino) “seeing” women via their perfumes. But my favorite is Oscar’s description of Roswitha in Gunter Grass’ The Tin Drum “redolent of cinnamon and nutmeg.”<br />My evocative aromas? Sopaipillas soaked in molasses syrup bring me back to rainy days in my childhood.<br />Malenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764070340451077376noreply@blogger.com