WRITING THAT APPEALS TO THE SENSES

“Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell that was once associated with it.” 
― Vladimir Nabokov



We experience the world through our senses. From the moment we're born we look, we taste, we touch, we hear,  we smell. A baby puts everything in his mouth as a way of learning about his environment. He giggles with delight watching his bottle bounce to the floor. He snuggles in his parent's arms feeling the smooth flesh or the texture of flannel or silk. He recognizes his mother's voice at birth and can distinguish her scent from any other person's.

We may not always be aware of how we interact using our eyes, or ears, or sense of touch, but a writer must be conscious of how the senses influence the recreation of a particular time, place and milieu. The stink of garbage or a piece of music affects our emotions and can transport us to another time and place.

Recently I came across a small blue bottle with the logo Evening in Paris in a second hand shop. Uncorking its fragrance swept me back to my mother's bedroom and childhood memories of her dressing to go out. The scent led not only to a total visualization of the room, the little vanity with the hatpin doll and lace cloth, but also of my mother's presence, the feel of her warm bosom,  the touch of her lips on my cheek as she kissed me goodnight.  

A writing teacher once suggested that every scene in a story should appeal to at least three of the five senses, not in an obvious way, but as an integral part of the character's experience. It is an effective way of grounding a scene and drawing the reader in. We all have associations that are aroused by what we hear, see, smell, touch and taste. A writer pays attention to them and uses them. WRITE ON!