Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Y: A to Z Blogging Challenge


Welcome to another day in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Find the entire list here. My theme this year is world-building. Mostly I’m asking questions that I believe need to be considered whether you creating a medieval fantasy world, a science fiction story or even a contemporary novel. The ideas I present aren’t in a particular order as I had to fit them into the alphabetical order needed. And don’t forget to visit the other blog I’m part of during the A to Z Challenge over at the IWSG. Now onto your world.
Yucky should be a scientific term. So should Yummy. No matter what world you're building, remember to appeal to all the senses. What smells are repugnant? Does the pot hanging over the fire smell delicious? Why? What is in it? Does your character have to eat something found in a dump to ward off starvation? How does that taste? Is a demon wrought of magic stalking your hero? How does it smell, sound, and move? Use all the senses.

What is the grossest thing you ever ate? What is the worse thing you've ever smelled? What scent makes you happy?

25 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Adding smells was something I had to work on. I guess because I have a poor sense of smell, I just don't think about it.
One of the worst things I've ever tasted is coffee. Sorry, I just think it's disgusting.

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Great "Y" words! :) One of the worst things I ever smelled was cod. Of course, I was cooking it so that might have been my fault. Stunk up the house for days. Ugh.

Pat Hatt said...

Raw Garlic would be near the top of my list of nasty, blah tastes soooo bad.

Robin said...

The smell of liver cooking turns my stomach. Eating liver is the only thing worse.

One of the best smells... puppy breath. One of the worst... dog breath. How does that happen???

Rachna Chhabria said...

I hate the smell of stale food especially stale vegetables and fish.

David P. King said...

I make it a point to have my characters run into something repulsive at some point. :)

cleemckenzie said...

I thought those word were scientific terms. As to yucky taste AND smell-- that would be goat tripe.

Nicki Elson said...

Certain scents can bring me back to a place or time. Freshly laundered linens is probably my favorite scent...would rather not think about the nasty ones, hehe.

Teresa Cypher said...

All good things to consider. Really get inside the character's head to experience the world from his perspective. Good post!

Chrys Fey said...

Using all the senses is something I always tell writers/readers on my blog. :)

LittleCely said...

It's important not to forget those senses. Great words for Y. =)

Stephanie Faris said...

Fruity scents make me happy...oh, and the smell of the ocean!

Scent is one thing I often leave out of my writing I need to be more mindful of that.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Taste, has to be that yucky stuff the dentist makes me gargle with. Smell? When they'd burned rubber tires on the farm. Gross! Happy? Babies. I love the smell of clean babies. Notice I said clean? Not poopie ones!

Unknown said...

I knew this guy put vanilla ice cream and maple syrup on everything. And he made me an omelet. It was so gross- the eggs were still runny and everything.

Karen Elizabeth Brown said...

Sorry to be so late in reciprocating. I finally found your blog!

I worked in a hospital and smelled a lot of atrocious things. But the worst was rotting flesh.

Michelle Wallace said...

Some great smells are - the smell of rain... freshly popped corn... fresh linen... coffee...

mshatch said...

Tuna Casserole (yuck)/Chocolate Mousse (yummy). I always try to incorporate the senses into my stories. Try being the operative word :)

Patricia Stoltey said...

The grossest tasting and smelling item I've ever tried to eat was black walnuts. Can't tolerate them.

A scent that makes me happy is lavender.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Smells! Really good reminder. All of the senses need to be involved.

Liz Blocker said...

Yes! Great stuff for Y today. I'm impressed :) And smell and taste are fun to include in writing!

Ava Quinn said...

Love it!! Great Y words today, Sue!

Arlee Bird said...

I like many scents. Scented candles can be nice. A lot of incense is okay. Love the smell of cinnamon. Yucky smells? There are a lot. Decaying dead animals are pretty bad.

Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

Birgit said...

The grossest thing I ate has to be sausage-I HATE sausage-greasy vile stuff and don;t get me started in even having to look at white sausage. I will also say Bacon fat-My mom, who is German, loves it-I think they call it Schmalz. I say it is starvation food. Nothing else to eat when one is starving so bacon fat it is. The worst smell wa when I was cleaning out my mom's fridge and she always told me to smell it to make sure it is ok or not. It was not OK-I don;t know what it was-I believe it was meat but to this day, if i have been bad with the fridge clearing, I chuck the whole thing, plate or container and all. I love the smell of beautiful flowers especially that one beautiful pinkish lily. I also love incense and candles

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan .. eel - my brother cooked me eel and I really couldn't stomach it .. put me off for life!

Now lovely things .. roasts, Christmas spices ... cakes ... fresh flowers ...

Yummy those be .. and congratulations on finishing ... cheers Hilary

Carrie-Anne said...

Off the top of my head, I'd have to say the worst smell I ever smelt was durian fruit. It really does smell like sweat mixed with rotting meat when it's cut open, and the longer it's cut open, the more pungent it gets. The fruit itself is custard-like, and doesn't taste so bad.