This Week's Practice Exercise~
Exercise: In 400 words or less, write a scene showing your character's
response to a particular odor or scent.
Smells can frighten us, nauseate us, or bring back memories, pleasant or
unpleasant. They can repel or attract us--we turn away from rotten odors,
while a sweet aroma draws us near. A rose wouldn't be a rose without its
familiar fragrance.
Suppose a woman steps onto a bus and chooses to sit next to a handsome man.
When she smells his strong body odor, is she likely to move somewhere else?
Or, does his body odor brings back pleasant memories of a hard working
husband?
Or, perhaps, he's recently bathed and is wearing her ex-boyfriend's favorite
after-shave. Would the memories the scent evokes be unpleasant, sad, or
bittersweet? How might his scent affect her response to him?
A clever man has seen the woman he's courting react with joy to bakery
smells, so on the way to her house for supper he buys a loaf of French bread
fresh out of the oven. Then, perhaps, when he walks through her door he gets
a whiff of his favorite food simmering in her kitchen.
The scent of cigar smoke floating through the air might bring back the
memory of a special male relative or friend, or a haunting memory of
something gone wrong.
Think of the many scents that tickle your nose during the day, either
pleasant or not. Choose one and build a scene that shows how a character
reacts or thinks in response to the smell.
Keep in mind that a typically pleasant smell might bring out a negative
response in your character because of past associations, just as a bad odor
could be linked to something positive in the mind of your character.
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These exercises were written by IWW members and administrators to provide structured practice opportunities for its members. You are welcome to use them for practice as well. Please mention that you found them at the Internet Writers Workshop.
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