Smells and Similes Part 2

Last week I wrote about fall, and I still have this beautiful season on the brain--especially the smells of fall or autumn, or whatever you like to call it. 

As I wrote about before, smell can be one of the hardest things to describe in our writing. It can help to use a simile--a comparison with "like" or "as." 

For example.

• The squash soup smelled like a sunny day at the end of October. 

• The crisp air smelled like a newly ironed shirt. 

Try using a simile to describe the smell, scent, aroma, or odor of the following things:

• Dog breath
• The inside of your refrigerator
• A banana peel on the sidewalk
• An old pizza box
• Your cat's fur
• Chocolate chip cookies just out of the oven
• A baby's hair
• A rubber band found in the back of a drawer
• A bag of Halloween candy

Smell adds texture to our stories. Similes add new layers of meaning. Combine the two, and you'll give your readers a double dose of reading pleasure--no matter what the season. 

Writing about Fall

I love fall! 

Call it autumn, fall, or just plain beautiful, this season makes me want to run outside and jump into a pile of leaves.

One of my favorite picture books about fall is Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, by Julia Rawlinson, with pictures by Tiphanie Beeke. 

Fletcher, a young fox, worries when the leaves on his favorite tree change color. Is the tree sick? 

Here's how the story starts:

The world was changing. Each morning, when Fletcher bounded out of the den, everything seemed just a little bit different. The rich green of the forest was turning to a dusty gold, and the soft, swishing sound of summer was fading to a crinkly whisper. Fletcher's favorite tree looked dull, dry, and brown.

Fletcher was beginning to get worried. 

Gorgeous writing! 

Julia Rawlinson took a risk by starting a story with description. Don't some of us skip over that part of a story? But her description is so detailed, she paints a picture of Fletcher's world.

Notice the alliteration--the soft, swishing sound of summer. She contrasts that with--dull, dry, and brown. 

Try writing your own description about fall. 

Describe one leaf that you find on the sidewalk. Or start a story with your character catching leaves as they dance through the air. 

Go outside and smell the crisp air. Each neighborhood has different scents in the fall. Write down yours, from the wood smoke rising from a chimney, to the rotting stick on the side of the road. 

Happy fall. Happy descriptions. And check out Fletcher and the Falling Leaves to find out what happens to Fletcher's tree. 

Art and Writing

This weekend I co-taught a class for adults. "Paint It. Write It. Book It: A Travel-Book Adventure" gathered an amazing group of people who learned how to create their own travel journals using words and pictures.  

"Frog n' Boots" by Margaret Nevinski

I loved teaching this class! The only problem: I'm terrified of painting. I'm comfortable with words, but when it comes to art, I'm the person in the back row hoping no one notices me.

Luckily, my wonderful co-teachers, Dorothy Matthews and Susan Callan, convinced me and the students that we can paint! All we have to do is try.

And try we did. Despite the rain falling on Bainbridge Island, we trooped out for a field trip to paint, sketch, observe, and write. 

I found this large ceramic frog named "Frog n' Boots" and decided to paint it. Then I added a story in pencil:

I am Frog n' Boots of Winslow Mall. Here is my crown. Where is my prince? I wait and the prince does not arrive. Am I ugly? Am I beautiful? 

Rivet! I croak with my lovely voice. A child laughs. Am I funny?

My crown is made of jewels. My cloak is made of fine wool. My boots are made of soft leather. Am I fine? Am I rich? Am I beautiful? I wait and the prince does not arrive....

I wrote this as a story that can be read in a continuous loop. Will Frog n' Boots find her prince? 

The best part is, I had a great time painting! I discovered that art--my very own art--can embellish, deepen, lighten, or inspire my writing, whether it's a travel journal or a story. I'm not ready for the Louvre yet, but I'm eager to keep going. 

How about you? Try adding a picture to your words. For those who draw and paint already, great. For those who have the same fears I did, take the plunge. 

It's fun. And you may find your own prince...hidden in yourself. 

What If Stories Part 2

Tina and Buster

A while back, I wrote about "What if" stories? 

These stories are fun to write, because asking "What if?" stretches our imaginations. It makes us see beyond the everyday. It helps us think about things that could--or couldn't--happen. 

So here are more ideas for your very own stories that ask, "What if?"

• What if your dog and cat plotted against you? 

• What if a talking banana popped out of your toaster?

• What if the world was square?

• What if your school turned into an amusement park?

• What if the ocean was pink?

• What if there were no oceans? 

• What if the entire world spoke the same language?

• What if you created a map that bossed people around?

• What if a gorilla showed up at your front door? 

• What if a lonely hairy tarantula wanted to be your best friend?

Have fun writing a "What if" story. Here's the start of mine. "What if" you wrote one, too? 

Tina and Buster

Lately I noticed that my dog, Tina, and my cat, Buster, were spending a lot of time together. They ate their meals together. They slept on the sagging end of the sofa together. They even watched TV together, and Buster hates TV.

Normally Tina and Buster avoided each other. What was going on? Could they be plotting something against me? 

When I caught Tina hiding my shoes in the backyard bushes, and Buster sprinkling kitty litter in my bed, I knew something was up....

Adverbs

Adverbs get no respect. 

In case you've forgotten your English grammar, an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs usually tell us when, where, or how an action is performed. (Are you asleep yet?)

Often adverbs are "ly" words: 

• She ran slowly.
• He quickly ate his lunch. 
• She really liked him. 
• He traveled adventurously. 

But not always: 

• She drove fast.
• He never ate breakfast.
• The leaves were quite red.
• I almost traveled to Japan.

So why don't adverbs get respect? Because many people think we writers overuse them.

Look at the some of the sentences above. Could we use a more vivid verb instead of an adverb? Are we being lazy writers?

• She raced. (Instead of drove quickly.)
• He wolfed his lunch. (Instead of quickly ate.)
• He skipped breakfast. (Instead of never ate.)
• The leaves exploded with red. (Instead of were quite red.)

Not an adverb in sight, and we used strong verbs: raced, wolfed, skipped, exploded. 

Try this at home: go through a story you're writing and highlight every adverb. Then see if you can replace the verb and adverb ("drove quickly") with a strong and vivid verb ("raced"). 

Of course, we don't want to cut every adverb. We really, really, really don't want to do that! 

Villains

I've been thinking about villains again. You know, those bad guys (or girls) who make our stories interesting.

Yesterday in my Shakespeare class I discovered that the word villain comes from the same root as villager. The dictionary defines the common root as, "a rustic, a boor." 

Huh? How did a person who lives in the country become an evil villain? Sometimes English words change meaning that way.

So I was thinking about villains, and how fun it would be to retell a fairy tale or folk tale from the point of view of the villain.

• "Little Red Riding Hood" from the point of view of the wolf.

• "Cinderella" from the point of view of the evil stepmother.

• "Hansel and Gretel" from the point of view of the witch.

You get the idea. 

Pick your favorite tale and try retelling it. How does your villain see the world? Why does the witch want to cook Hansel and Gretel? In your story, you can find out! 

A Tasty Treat in Our Writing

Believe it or not, these "books" are a cake! They're from a celebration at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I received my MFA in Writing.

Wouldn't you love to taste one of these cakes? Imagine being able to eat a book! 

Taste is one of the senses we most often neglect when we write. Maybe it's because some things taste yucky (like burnt broccoli) or different (like purple potatoes) or just plain weird (like cayenne ice cream). Some foods have a funny name (like quinoa) but are delicious.

Tasting food is part of life, so why not include different tastes in our stories? How does your character react to lavender birthday cake, chocolate waffles, or green peas with lemon sauce? 

For fun, list your 3 favorite foods. Then include these foods in a story and have your characters taste them. What do they think? 

My favorites are blueberries, chocolate ice cream, and sour cream potato chips. 

Remember to include a detailed description: "She licked the velvety chocolate ice cream cone with pink and blue sprinkles. A smooth river of chocolate filled her mouth and swirled in eddies to her throat." 

Give your characters a tasty treat. Let them design (and eat) their own cake!