Saucy Scents

Scent, Savor, Perfume, Fragrance, Bouquet, Aroma, Atmosphere, Taste

The sense of smell and taste intermingle. They lend layers to a story and conjure feelings and memories in the reader. Writing about these senses does not come naturally to me, because I don't have a strong sense of smell and that affects the tastebuds.

"Here, smell this," says a friend as she moves a candle under my nose in a store.

"Hmmm," I'll say politely, generally with no clue as to what whiffed by my nose.

It's good there are alarms to signal fire, because unless I was up in flames myself, don't count on me to smell something burning.

That's why an article in the WSJ (4/9-10/2011. p. C11) caught my eye. Marie Wright is a flavorist. She's "created more than 1,000 flavors for food and beverage companies, including bourbon vanilla for coffee beans, apple-peach for cookies, and rosemary/garlic for crackers."

She doesn't specialize, but deals in sweet, savory, or beverage flavors. She builds formulas in her head, mixing ingredients and "visualizing the smell in colors and textures." Over 4,000 compounds, oils, and extracts are her building blocks, as she considers emotional and psychological impacts of flavors.

"Scents have personalities." For example a paper strip soaked in isoamyl acetate first smells like nail polish remover, but then morphs into bubble gum and pear. "To me," Ms.Wright says,"this one is very happy."

Creativity as a flavorist - who knew? I shall keep this article in mind as I write my next story.

I'll also whip up a batch of brownies for inspiration. My nose might be weak but its sense of chocolate is strong.

Moving the Merchandise

In America, it is sport that is the opiate of the masses. (Russell Baker) Ray and I hosted a sports theme party, and in decorating, I realized how much sports paraphenalia we own. It is brilliant merchandising, and I'm thinking authors need to apply the sport model to book marketing.

There is no business like show business - except sports business. (William J. Baker) In a recent WSJ article, it was noted that writers are using iPads and sex toys to bump up sales and generate buzz. Use of social media, contest drawings, and hustle are part of the author's job. "It's no longer a top down media culture," says Paul Bogaards from Knopf Doubleday. Instead skimpy advertising budgets, Borders bankruptcy, scaled back marketing and publicity departments, and more writing competition necessitate extra effort to get noticed.

Back to sports. It's no longer just the game. It's pre, post, and halftime entertainment. Athletes are celebrities, and authors need to do the same to get the spotlight on them.

"Freebies such as bookmarks or key chain logos generate reader goodwill and may provide an author with more Facebook friends, a larger email list, and can goose preorders, which gets attention of publishers." It's truly a juggling act with razzle dazzle.

One author, Christopher McDougall (Born to Run, 2009) throws cases of books in his car and drives to races, running clinics, and athletic retailer conventions. "I found that slapping the shoe leather is what works." Face to face contact, and one sale can spread the word to umpteen others.

Amidst the hoopla, there is one thing to keep in mind. Just like an athlete still must practice and play to remain in the public eye, an author still must write. Promotion is important, but you need the muscle (i.e.words, plot, character) to back it up.

Play ball!

NaNo Filler

In a recent Wall Street Journal essay Block That Adjective!, Alexander McCall Smith discussed overuse of adjectives. He conjectured that creative writing courses are a good idea except when they aren't. He discussed overwriting - writing a mountain out of a molehill and using far too many words to make a point.

Well, obviously, he has not written during November, i.e. National Novel Writing Month, where to reach the 50,000 word goal in a mere 30 days involves an excruciating amount of adjectives, adverbs, and cliches. Trust me, scene descriptions can go on forever. Pour a cup of coffee - you live through the beans being picked.

McCall Smith protests the temptation to overindulge in words, "like a chocolate box with multiple layers." Good analogy, but in NaNo - bring on the nougats, cremes, and fruit flavors.

He clamors for conciseness. He desires sparing use of metaphor. What?

Is he insane? No, wait, NaNo writers are insane and we are abusing the English language with flowery prose. We are not letting our reader use his imagination. Oh well. Mr.McCall Smith blames Roget's thesaurus and demands it be put away.

NO, Sir - absolutely not until December 1st. At that time, I shall re-peruse your essay, re-read my work, and begin to pluck useless adjectives from the path of meaning.

Random Words

These pictures are random selections, and what I'm writing about today could be considered bizarre. Throughout the week, I collect various news clippings that attract my eye. Sometimes words or pictures trigger a full paragraph. Other times, a line will amuse me. Consider this statement from the WSJ on Sat/Sun 5/15 &5/16 - "Long-term portfolios are going to have short-term volatility." That covers all bases. At this juncture, I plan on setting my portfolio on fire.

Unless you are living in a cave (like Carlsbad Caverns, above), you are aware that President Obama has selected Elena Kagan as his choice for the Supreme Court to replace Justice Stevenson. Now we get to read the daily blah blah, but this sentence in a column by Peggy Noonan (excellent writer) caught my eye, "Kagan seems to get along with everyone and not to be insane." I laughed out loud. She continues, " This is actually a major plus in all nominees now, as is collegiality." 'Nuff said.

Finally, David Mamet has a new book published called Theater, and it is a collection of essays on that subject. As a revered artist himself, his top ten list of great 20th century American plays is thought-provoking. He writes, "These plays treat American issues and are written in an American idiom closer to real poetry than to prose."

Here you go:

1. Our Town/ Thornton Wilder

2. The Front Page/ Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?/ Edward Albee

4. A Streetcar Named Desire/ Tennessee William

5. All My Sons/ Arthur Miller

6. Doubt/ John Patrick Shanley

7. The Time of Your Life/ William Saroyan

8. The Boys in the Band/ Mart Crowley

9. The Best Man/ Gore Vidal

10. The Women/ Clare Boothe Luce

Live theater - the intensity of the moment. Movie versions (I've seen #2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10) don't do the plays justice.

What's on your list?

Now, off to gather more clippings, and wipe off my hands - smeary newsprint. Ah, nothing like it.

Bad Books

Quick short post today and I'm stealing the idea from the Wall Street Journal's Book Lover (Cynthia Crossen) (5/14/10). Anyway, someone wrote in to discuss how a favorite author can seriously disappoint a reader on a follow-up book. The Book Lover agreed that authors can write lousy books, and then make a come-back with brilliance. It happens.

The Book Lover used John Irving as her example. She loved World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules. Subsequent works, not so much. She writes, "Either he changed, or I did, or both, and now I don't even try to read his work."

Who's your disappointing author? Two came to mind immediately. Donna Tartt wrote The Secret History, and I loved that book. Then ten years (ten years later!) The Little Friend was published and ugh!, an absolute beating to read. I don't know that I even finished it. Same with Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. Wow! I was enthralled with that book and recommended it to everyone. Then she came out with Almost Moon. Blecch!

Aldous Huxley said, "A bad book is as much of a labor to write as a good one, it comes as sincerely from the author's soul."