Post by The Muse on Mar 30, 2011 15:00:25 GMT -5
Lets talk smells.
Metal is likely omnipresent in some way shape or form. It is found in nearly every type of story.
It will be found in an industrial setting, a military setting, a fantasy setting, ESPECIALLY in a scifi setting.
Give some thought to the SMELL of metal though.
"But metal doesnt smell!" you may think...AH, BUT IT DOES.
Heat a cast iron pan on a stove top...there is a smell. Plug in a heating or a curling iron...there is a smell. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with a working Historical site, visit the Blacksmith...there is a smell.
If you have any experience with firearms you will know about the smell of that hot metal as well.
The point of noting these smells is this....We smell things such as this all the time and take them for granted. Yet the combination of these things all contributes to experiences and memories. We need to be able to accurately depict a given situation or scene that we are writing about. All the reader has is our words to go on...its up to us to fire their imagination.
It would be good to notice the color of different metals, find out the alloys that are commonly used for weapons, blades, eating utensils, jewelery, clothing accents. As mentioned before, accuracy is vital to helping our stories be not only credible but to enable the story to grab the reader, pull them in and immerse them in a full technicolor experience, complete with sight, sound and smell.
I also mentioned leather in the tag line of this thread.
Leather will invariably come up in most Fantasy and in some Scifi stories. It will be found in Western cowboy type novels as well as stories with any type of Native American, Eskimo, Aboriginal, or Native African as well as Islander stories. It is a material that is put to use because it is often more easily made than say, fabric for ancient cultures.
If you go to a Shoe repair shop, a country and western style Boot store, or a leather worker you will be able to experience the singularly unique smell of leather. It comes in many thicknesses and textures, giving you a vast array of literary options to use to embelish your descriptions of your characters and their apperances.
Remember that leather has many, many uses as well. It is not only used in clothing and shoes, but as cases for weapons (sheaths for blades, quivers for arrows.) It is also used for bodily protection.(Boiled leather currass, leather shields, leather bracers and leather greaves)
It is used for shelters,(tents and lean-tos) for tack (saddles, bridles), for utility (leather haversacks and satchels, pouches, purses etc).
Leather is also used for writing...parchment is made from scraped sheepskin, calfskin, or goatskin...another form of leather.
So you will find many uses for both in your work.
Happy writing!
Metal is likely omnipresent in some way shape or form. It is found in nearly every type of story.
It will be found in an industrial setting, a military setting, a fantasy setting, ESPECIALLY in a scifi setting.
Give some thought to the SMELL of metal though.
"But metal doesnt smell!" you may think...AH, BUT IT DOES.
Heat a cast iron pan on a stove top...there is a smell. Plug in a heating or a curling iron...there is a smell. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with a working Historical site, visit the Blacksmith...there is a smell.
If you have any experience with firearms you will know about the smell of that hot metal as well.
The point of noting these smells is this....We smell things such as this all the time and take them for granted. Yet the combination of these things all contributes to experiences and memories. We need to be able to accurately depict a given situation or scene that we are writing about. All the reader has is our words to go on...its up to us to fire their imagination.
It would be good to notice the color of different metals, find out the alloys that are commonly used for weapons, blades, eating utensils, jewelery, clothing accents. As mentioned before, accuracy is vital to helping our stories be not only credible but to enable the story to grab the reader, pull them in and immerse them in a full technicolor experience, complete with sight, sound and smell.
I also mentioned leather in the tag line of this thread.
Leather will invariably come up in most Fantasy and in some Scifi stories. It will be found in Western cowboy type novels as well as stories with any type of Native American, Eskimo, Aboriginal, or Native African as well as Islander stories. It is a material that is put to use because it is often more easily made than say, fabric for ancient cultures.
If you go to a Shoe repair shop, a country and western style Boot store, or a leather worker you will be able to experience the singularly unique smell of leather. It comes in many thicknesses and textures, giving you a vast array of literary options to use to embelish your descriptions of your characters and their apperances.
Remember that leather has many, many uses as well. It is not only used in clothing and shoes, but as cases for weapons (sheaths for blades, quivers for arrows.) It is also used for bodily protection.(Boiled leather currass, leather shields, leather bracers and leather greaves)
It is used for shelters,(tents and lean-tos) for tack (saddles, bridles), for utility (leather haversacks and satchels, pouches, purses etc).
Leather is also used for writing...parchment is made from scraped sheepskin, calfskin, or goatskin...another form of leather.
So you will find many uses for both in your work.
Happy writing!