Writers In The Night

I'm working on a memoir piece that deals with the neighborhood shopping area in the Chicago suburb where I grew up. I've got the skeleton but fleshing it out has been rather troublesome. It feels blah to me.

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, tossed and turned awhile, then did something dangerous. I started to think about that draft and what it needed. It's dangerous to start thinking because, once begun, never done! Or so it sometimes seems. On the other hand, it's a good thing to act on ideas or thoughts that come in the night. So, my sympathy in the drawing above is all with Snoopy. 

I finally decided that what the memoir piece needed is more sensory detail. One in particular--smell. Why smell? Think about it. Each shop or business in that neighborhood had a unique smell. The drug store didn't smell like the bakery. Nor did the small grocery store smell like the shoe store. I think I could close my eyes and walk into each one and identify it by the aroma that hit me as I entered. 

Think about a few words that tell us about 'smell'--odor, aroma, scent, fragrance, bouquet, stench, essence, malodor, fetid--these are just a partial list. Some are good and some are yuk! (Yuk--that lovely word children use most effectively) 

If I mention walking by the bakery that had the door propped open on a summer day you visualize it. If I start to describe the 'smell' emanating from said bakery, what it was like and how it affected me, I'm going to pull my reader closer. The reader can relate. They know how a whiff of cinnamon can tickle the nose and start us salivating. Or what the aroma of freshly baked bread does to us. 

Writing books emphasize the importance of a sense of place. The sensory details like smell, sight, sound, touch and perhaps, even taste can help paint a word picture about a place where a story happens. 

Sensory details make our writing stronger and much more interesting. Some writers decide that, if a little is good, a lot might be better. Moderation is a better practice, even when adding sensory details. 

Back to my writing project. I think I must also explore sound along with smell. My middle of the night musing has continued to swirl in my mind all morning. Unlike Snoopy, I didn't start writing again in the dark of night but it definitely triggered these daytime thoughts.

If you have a piece of writing that you thought was finished, have submitted to an editor and got no place fast with it, consider going back and finding places where you can add a few more sensory details. You have little to lose and a lot to gain if you give it a try.