Friday, August 7, 2009

The Smell of Good Fortune

I had posted earlier in the week that I needed to figure out my next project. Well, I had decided to jump into the other revision and.....I already got back my full MS critique. The other project will wait a bit longer.

I can't believe my good fortune to have gotten it back in such a short time -- and done so well.

One of the line comments refered to my MC's mom not liking the smell of vanilla as an interesting characteristic (Who doesn't like the smell of vanilla?). Well, there's a reason for it. She associates someone/something with it.

What smells do you like or dislike based upon association rather than normal perception? My wife, for example, likes the summertime smell of dead alewives because it reminds her of growing up near the Lake Michigan beach.

I'm going to light a vanilla candle.

4 comments:

christine M said...

I love the smell of vanilla -hence the comment in the manuscript :)

That particular salt-water/seaweed kind of NJ smell you get by the beaches around here always says summer and relaxation to me.

PJ Hoover said...

I can smell it from here!

Suzanne Casamento said...

I love the smell of roses because they remind me of my grandmother's garden when I was growing up. I'd walk out the back door and the whole yard smelled like baked roses.

The smell of Ralph Lauren's Polo makes my spine shiver. In a very bad way.

Vivian Mahoney said...

Sounds like you're making great progress, Jim. Good luck on your revisions!

As for smells... love the scent of vanilla for baking purposes, but the vanilla notes in fragrances are way too cloying--makes me want to gag (no association with this).