To make the reader recoil, mention nasty odours.Īlso consider the genre. If you want your reader to feel positive about the place, use pleasant scents. That’s when humans are most aware of smells, so it feels right if you mention them. Smells trigger emotions. The best place to insert a sentence about smells is immediately after the point-of-view character has arrived at a new location. Or try these: “The room smelled of pizza, beer and unwashed socks.” “The room smelled of beeswax, joss sticks and patchouli.” “The corridor smelled of mould and leaking sewage.” “The kitchen smelled of coffee, cinnamon and freshly baked bread.” “The kitchen smelled of burnt milk, overripe pears and bleach.” “The garden smelled of lilacs and freshly mown grass.” “The cell smelled of blood, urine and rotting straw.” Where and How to Use this Technique “The place smelled of boiled cabbage, urine and disinfectant.” These nine words are enough to convey what kind of old people’s home this is, and it creates a strong image in the reader’s mind. For example, the hero enters a home for old people.

Mention two or three, and the reader is pulled into the scene as if it were real.Ī single sentence about smells can reveal more about a place than several paragraphs of visual descriptions.

The mere mention of a smell evokes memories and triggers associations in the reader’s subconscious. Mention a smell, and the scene comes to life. Here’s a powerful technique for immersing readers into your story: use the sense of smell. Of all the senses, smell has the strongest psychological effect.

The Colour of Dishonour by Rayne Hall