The Sweet Smell of Remembering

The Fire Inside: A Companion for the Creative Life

Chapter Five: Wooing the Muse

The Smell of Remembering

“Already many of the memories of the previous two weeks had faded: the smell of that small hotel in St. Andrews; that mixture of bacon cooking for breakfast and the lavender-scented soap in the bathroom; the air from the sea drifting across the golf course; the aroma of coffee in the coffee bar in South Street.” —Alexander McCall Smith, Trains and Lovers

Ahh, the sweet smell of remembering? Have you ever encountered a scent that takes you back to a place or person? A whiff of Old Spice, for instance, and you are a little child sitting beside your grandfather at church. Or the sweet perfume of cinnamon and you’re back in Aunt Mary’s kitchen licking the bowl while her head is turned. Smell triggers memory. As children, we notice scents and associate them with certain people or experiences. Years later, when we encounter the scent again and the same associations are aroused, memories return.

Writers and artists understand the power of details. As Natalie Goldberg said, “This is not just my father; this is your father. The character who smoked cigars and put too much ketchup on his steak.” We must care about the details around us, using our senses to help us see and feel and smell the world. And of the senses, scent is the one closely connected to our most ancient neurosensory system, the limbic system, which is concerned with intuition and long-term memory. It provokes heat and energy, strong emotion, and can lead to immediate inspiration.

Every breath we draw is full of olfactory information, carrying us across the fog of years and across miles delineated on a map. The scent of an apple orchard transports my husband and me to our favorite picnic area. I breathe in the heady smell of horse stables, and my old pinto, Diamond, comes galloping into view.

One day, the whiff of peppermint delivered me to a beloved place of my youth. In that instance, I was waiting in line in a country store where a huge display of old-fashioned candy was positioned close to the cashier. Brightly colored bins of candies adorned the aisle: wax-paper covered caramels, toffees in red foil paper, and on the counter, striped red and white lollipops dressed up like dolls. A wonderful sweet, peppery scent came wafting through the air, and I was plunged back in time. Back to a small farmhouse with a sagging screened-in porch, my grandmother’s home.

These images shine as brightly and vividly today as they did so many years ago, as if now is elastic and the poignancy of certain bygone events can easily rise to present awareness. These times of our lives are indelibly marked in our minds; and it may be the “scratch and sniff” of past experiences that gives rise to our writing spilling magically on the page. – Becky Breed

Writing/Creative Exercise:

1. How do we make memory leaps from scent to images or experiences? Take a walk where smells and scents are strong. A floral or candy shop, in a forest, by the perfume or men’s cologne counters. Maybe a tobacco shop or barn. A bakery. If you can, just sit and close your eyes. Begin walking again if nothing is aroused, or choose another place to explore.
2. When a scent provokes, and your attention is suddenly focused, tap into your associative thinking. According to Brian Kiteley, associative thinking “means the process of forming mental connections between sensations, ideas or memories.” Often called free association.
3. Sometimes, the image or experience arises quickly. And if it does, use details from these occurrences as a spring board for writing or creating. Begin by making a list of ten things you remember or how the experience unfolded. Circle the words that have special meaning, sing to you, let them percolate. Take these frozen moments in time and make them yours. Begin your creative work.
4. Sometimes, further priming is necessary for inspiration to happen. Remember some of these olfactory memories are ancient ones. Walk away from the scent and come back to it. Try to give clarity to it by recalling possible times and places.
5. If this still doesn’t work, complete the following starter sentence: The smell of ________ is___________.  See where this takes you. Good luck!

For more writing/creative exercises, go to thewritingandcreativelife.com.