Writing short stories is a smelly and noisy business

I was just reading a post by Betsy Dornbusch about authors trimming word count being the single most important thing to improve a short story.

For me, movement is the key.

'She lunged forward, eyes wide' asks questions immediately about why, purpose and her inner tension.

Smell and sound also precipitate action.

'The acrid smell of burned flesh ...'

'The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the window ... ' makes us look inside to see what else is happening in the kitchen.

Action moves story along in an environment populated by smells and sounds.

Smells and sounds stimulates characters reaction.

In many ways, sight is what the reader provides from their own personal library. We just have to tap into it.

Rob

(Rob Hopcott - online author and big on smelliness)