Post #178 – Women’s Memoirs, Writing Prompts and Life Prompts – Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler
The Sense of Smell–A Powerful Element
Seeing, hearing, tasting, touching…and oh yes, smelling. The five senses are necessary to our very survival. And, they aren’t just there as nice-to-have elements in our writing either. The senses enhance our experiences but also protect us from dangerous and even deadly situations. Those people who have lost, or never had, one of these senses have to learn how to manage their lives in the absence of sight or hearing. I even have a friend who in recent years has had to learn to live without the senses of taste and smell. (She no longer cooks, worried she will burn something or add the wrong seasonings or wrong amounts.)
Recount even the previous five minutes and you’ll find the value of your senses. Think of how different those five minutes would have been if you had to manage without any of the sensory details available to you.
Let’s Focus on the Sense of Smell
Research shows that the sense of smell helps a person to recall previous experiences. Smelling a specific scent can trigger memories stored in the cerebral cortex. Sometimes these memories have been buried for decades. Kendra and I have even had that happen to some of our students during classes.
But today, I want to relate some new research. Research conducted at two universities — Washington State and Switzerland’s University of St. Gallen — examined the behavior of 400 customers. In one group, the customers were in a home decor store and the air contained “a simple orange scent.” A second group of customers, in the same home decor store but at another time, were shopping when a complex scent of orange, basil, and green tea was in the air. And the third group of customers, the control group, were shopping when no scents had been introduced.
The behaviors being measured were number of items bought and the amount of money spent.
What do you think was the outcome?
The scent that changed behavior the most was the simple orange scent. Customers in that group both purchased more items and spent about 20 percent more than customers in the other two groups.
In a second experiment, college students were asked to solve word problems. Those in the room with the simple orange scent solved more problems (correctly) than those in the other groups.
What Does This Mean for Memoir Writers?
We can’t give our readers sachet bags to open at various times as they read. A cocoa-colored organza bag with the scent of a Thanksgiving turkey roasting. A hyacinth-purple organza bag with the scent of spring flowers? A white-peach organza bag with the scent of your mother’s perfume? A fun thought but not practical. Besides, how would we translate the concept into the ebook version of your story! It would take a whole new tablet technology that would need to rely on nanodiffusion (see Bloomberg Businessweek, Jan 28-Feb 3, 2013 issue) to send fragrances into the air as we read.
[Note: Numerous companies are using this technology today. Combining a specially designed machine and the heating and air conditioning system, fragrance oil is released into the air. For instance, a bookstore chain is using a coffee fragrance.]
But if we could use scents, we would be able to affect behaviors of our readers.
So what can we do? We can take the research on smells triggering memories and the research on smells changing behaviors and utilize them as we write. Work through a scene you are writing and recall it in detail. Remember the scents. What were they? Where did they come from? Were they subtle or powerful? Pleasing or distasteful? Write down what you remember.
Then think about the emotional context of a scene you are writing. See how you can use the power of smell to create an emotional connection with your reader.
Want to Know More About Using the 5 Senses in Your Writing?
In our award-winning book, Writing Alchemy: How to Write Fast and Deep, we devote a chapter to the understanding and use of the five senses. To learn more about our book, click here.
And the Scent of Cinnamon Wafts Toward Me
The standard food court in shopping malls is a good reminder of the power of scents. Every time I smell the heavy cinnamon and sugar laden air, I’m tempted to follow my nose right over to the Cinnabon stand.
And I don’t even like Cinnabon’s rolls!
