Wednesday, August 14, 2013

WIP Wednesday - Tasting the Scene

Last Wednesday, I talked about the use of scent in a scene. But you can also taste a scene through the main character's senses.

In my upcoming book, The Tempest Murders, Ryan O'Clery can taste the salt in the air as he tries frantically to reach the Outer Banks of North Carolina during Hurricane Irene...

He tastes a sweetness on the lips of his lover - of mint; fresh, cool air; the hint of orange...

When his preschool-age niece pecks him on his lips, he may taste milk or saltiness or the hint of chocolate...

During the rainstorm that arrives before the eye of the hurricane, he might taste the rain itself, a pungent mix of autumn florals and freshly churned air...

If a woman is accosted, she might taste something more foul as she tries to turn her head from her assailant's face... The taste of perspiration, of an unwashed body, of the previous night's meal.

The use of taste to conjure undesired feelings must be used sparingly, while those eliciting pleasurable feelings can be used more liberally.