random admission of the day:

[jade_sabre]

my whole life, when I've read about scents and stuff in books--like, people catching a whiff of this or that--I always assumed that was just Something That Happened. Like, you threw in something about so-and-so's hair smelling like their shampoo or something because that was just another detail about the person you could include.

it wasn't until Malone recently admitted to me that she associates different people with their own scents that I realized that some people actually can smell a shampoo's scent without having to have their nose buried in said hair.

long story short: if you catch scent descriptions in my writing, I'm making it up, and if I can smell your cologne, you're wearing too much.




p.s. new layout requires more quotes and new icons, suggestions?

Comments

I shall go down in history as the man who opened a door! ~ Leonardo

[idiosyncreant.livejournal.com]

Aaah! I like the new look. ^_^

I am one of those people who really strongly associates smells with people, places, even eras in my life where the different surroundings made up composites unlike anywhere else.

It's one of the senses that is really hard to evoke on paper, but someday I'd like to be able to make that theme of scent memory part of a story.

Sherwood Smith (sartorias) posted about associating certain painters with books, once. In the comments I mentioned that I actually have more of a scent association...not a real smell, but the same overall impression of colors and place that smells give me in memory. I actually got to go back and forth with her a little, about it.

Anyway. Thought I'd jump in.


About cologne...since I smell things pretty well, sometimes just walking by a certain type of guy makes me want to gag and make dramatic gestures of asphyxiation. (Maybe the childish urge is not completely my own fault...hmm.)

And on the random thought train, while typing above statement it struck me that my mental characterization of Draco Malfoy has to include that facet. I wasn't even thinking of Harry Potter recently...

"Is there anything you don't do?" "Fly"

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I guess I don't have the greatest sense of smell--I associate smells more with places than people, (it seems to me as if a place would have a stronger smell than a person, but I'm probably just making that up). Home has a smell, my best friend's home has a smell, my apartment has a smell. The smell is part of knowing where you are.

[fathomlesssky.livejournal.com]

I think scent is kind of a sensory detail that's easily forgotten and thus used kind of infrequently in writing. (Or at least in stuff I've been reading lately.) Obviously, it'd be weird if ALL descriptions revolve around smell, but you bring up a good point. For instance, the guy I like(d/s) wears this certain kind of Old Spice (or some other kind of commmon deodorant) and I can smell it every time I hug him or we're in each other's personal bubble, so now every time I smell that particular type of deodorant I think of him. Smell seems like a fun thing to play with in writing... (Maybe you'll pay extra-attention like I will from now on 'cause you actually wrote a coherent post on smell. But I'm sure you CAN smell.)

[loquaciousquark.livejournal.com]

I can never take discussions on smell too seriously because about halfway through I just want everyone discussed to take a shower.

also, did you know carrie fisher's in that new dead sorority girl movie?

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

I had a few windows open, so when I got to this one, I looked at the banner and the rest of the layout and thought, "Wow, this is really pretty. This must be an icon journal or something." Then I realized it was your journal.

And I LOVE IT!! SO PRETTY!!!

*uses Ever After icon*

Hm. Interesting little thing about smells, also that you mentioned shampoo specifically. People always tell me that my hair smells good. lol

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Also, your layout makes me want to put up that Jane Eyre header I've had sitting on my hard drive for a while.

And to change my wallpaper. But it's Sophos, and it's kind of fun to turn my computer on and see dear little Sophos.

[clightenbulb.livejournal.com]

1 - I really detest people who wear too much perfume or cologne. Really, what are they thinking?

2 - I love Spike. He kicks Angel's a**.