I just wanted to go back to the whole thing about smell and writing.
I was out the other day taking the dog for a walk. I stopped and closed my eyes. The scent in the air was one of trees coming out of hibernation. Of things growing once again. The smell was woody and earthy and takes me back to a time when things were easier.
Take yourself outside today and see what you notice in the air. It just might be the next idea for you story.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Smell
I thought I would use this time to talk about smell. Kind of strange in a way, but it's something we really don't think about when we are creating stories. Sure, we write about emotions and how we feel, but do we write about how things smell?
I don't know about you, but I'm constantly smelling. As I write this, I can smell my large German Shepherd as he sleeps at my feet. He's stinky and his breath is bad and sometimes he farts. He is 8 years old, so he doesn't have puppy breath anymore. But his smell is so distinct, I miss it when I go away.
Okay, so maybe this is a bit weird for some people. Let's try some other memory. There is a perfume I used to wear back in my mid-twenties. It was a mango smell that The Body Shoppe still sells. Whenever I smell that mango perfume, it takes me back to a time when I was in university and was partying waaayyyyyy too much. I'm transported to that time and place, and those feelings return once again: a mixture of sadness, loss and being lost, but also a moment of finding myself.
Whether you are journaling or establishing characters in your story, smell can dig a little deeper into what is really going on inside. To learn how to dig deeper into your creativity, check out my eBook Unleash Your Writing Muse.
I don't know about you, but I'm constantly smelling. As I write this, I can smell my large German Shepherd as he sleeps at my feet. He's stinky and his breath is bad and sometimes he farts. He is 8 years old, so he doesn't have puppy breath anymore. But his smell is so distinct, I miss it when I go away.
Okay, so maybe this is a bit weird for some people. Let's try some other memory. There is a perfume I used to wear back in my mid-twenties. It was a mango smell that The Body Shoppe still sells. Whenever I smell that mango perfume, it takes me back to a time when I was in university and was partying waaayyyyyy too much. I'm transported to that time and place, and those feelings return once again: a mixture of sadness, loss and being lost, but also a moment of finding myself.
Whether you are journaling or establishing characters in your story, smell can dig a little deeper into what is really going on inside. To learn how to dig deeper into your creativity, check out my eBook Unleash Your Writing Muse.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Children and Creativity
Would you agree that children are creative beings? If you watch them play, they aren't letting ego or judgement or any other thought process stand in their way. They let loose their creative side and go with it.
Do you believe we have to lose our creative edge as we get older?
My belief is that if we kept even a slight piece of that creativity we had as a child, then maybe, just maybe we would be able to go through life with a better outlook. Maybe we would be able to create our lives a lot easier than we do right now.
Maybe it's not so bad keeping those rose coloured glasses on for the rest of our lives. Maybe, by looking through the eyes of a child, we will remind ourselves what we used to see.
Do you believe we have to lose our creative edge as we get older?
My belief is that if we kept even a slight piece of that creativity we had as a child, then maybe, just maybe we would be able to go through life with a better outlook. Maybe we would be able to create our lives a lot easier than we do right now.
Maybe it's not so bad keeping those rose coloured glasses on for the rest of our lives. Maybe, by looking through the eyes of a child, we will remind ourselves what we used to see.
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