Writing About Smell, Odor and Aroma

Writing exercises flex your writing muscles, bring some creativity to the surface, and often trigger ideas for a new story. This one deals with sensory details which are so important in a story or essay. The sense of smell is the topic. I have listed words, and you are to write a sentence or two telling what smell the word brings to you. Below the list I added my own interpretation of each word. Have fun with this one. It will bring back a few memories for you which may inspire a new writing project. WORD LIST What is the smell of: 1. the moon 2. sadness 3. a child's joy in watching a soap bubble 4. grief 5. cowardice 6. snow 7. velcro 8. a nasty letter 9. silver 10. mystery 11. sand 12. a sidewalk in summer 13. the middle of the earth 14. purple 15. a contented dog napping 16. a cloudless spring sky 17. a dollar bill Nancy's Exercise on Smell What is the smell of: the moon: The heady aroma of a strong cheese, for tis said the moon is made of green cheese, and I believed it as a child. sadness: The antiseptic smell of a hospital for it was there where my greatest sadness occurred with a child who never came home. a child's joy in watching a soap bubble: A sweet, clean smell. Not the bleach odor of a laundry day, just that feel-good-because-you're-clean smell. grief: the cloying sweetness of funeral flowers that can be overwhelming cowardice: sweat, because the coward lacks confidence and would sweat up a storm snow: Ah, this one comes up smelling like ice cream with all it's cold goodness. velcro: surely velcro brings to mind the big jar of school paste that resided in the supply closet at my grade school. How I loved the smooth, sweet smell of the paste. a nasty letter: the vile odor of tar silver: this brings to mind the aroma of tea when served from a silver tea set, soothing, satisfying, and appealing mystery: for some reason, mothballs come to mind with this word. Old clothes stored in mothballs and used in a mystery drama sand: Sand brings back waves of baby oil and iodine, the suntan lotion of choice in the 50's when I frequented beaches. a sidewalk in summer: Kool-aid stands the kids in my neighborhood set up on hot, summer days. Fruity aromas. the middle of the earth: I think of mushrooms growing in groups, pungent with clinging soil purple: for me purple smells like barbecue grills set up in the stadium parking lot, purple flags waving in the Kansas breeze, and also popcorn and cotton candy at the concession stands in the football stadium at K-State. Purple is definitely all the aromas found at a K-State football game a contented dog napping: the comforting scent of cedar, which is what our Irish Setter's bed was filled with. Every morning he was our own walking, barking cedar chest. a cloudless spring sky: Lilacs come to mind, their sweet and fresh scent goes well with a cloudless spring sky. a dollar bill: Musty, dirty, and oily