Scents and Sensibility

One rough crit. One meh rejection. One misguided comment. Any of these can bring a writer's work to a screeching halt. It's funny how one opinion -- ONE --- OPINION --- can totally change perspective.

Yesterday, on a rare trip to the mall, I stopped by the Stinky Bath Stuff store. I rarely buy this kind of stuff, but it was deeply discounted, and for some reason I do like scent when I'm stressed. I strolled around the store and sniffed. Usually I prefer to smell like produce, choosing scents like orange and cucumber. But this time I was entranced by the big five dollar bottles of Sandalwood Rose lotion and body wash labeled STRESS RELIEF. I sniffed. Ahhh. Heaven. A whiff of home mixed with a whiff of someplace exotic which promised peace and tranquility. I continued browsing, while occasionally popping the top of the bottle to take a whiff of paradise. I made my selections, checked out, and walked away quite pleased that I had gotten the GOOD stuff for considerably less than my usual drug store brands. I met up with my husband and the progeny, and still excited about my buys, I handed the bottle of Sandalwood Rose to my husband and said, "Here, sniff."

He sniffed. He recoiled and made some kind of snuffly ewww-y noise. I was crestfallen. "You don't like it?" I asked. He shook his head no.

And then instantly, as quickly as I had fallen in love with the scent, I decided it reeked. It was too strong, too terrible, and it gave me a headache.

This is what we do sometimes with our writing. We love it. We think it's crafted well. It's all good. And then one opinion changes that. What we thought smelled divine, now reeks like garbage.

When this happens, you have to do what I did with my big ol' green glass bottle of Sandalwood Rose. You go off by yourself and sniff again. Maybe you did over romanticize it, maybe you didn't see the flaws. Maybe it is a mite heavy in the scent department, and you should only put it on your ankles. Or maybe after taking another sniff, you can smell what's right with it again. 

Input from others is important, but you have to sniff that out as well. Don't let one comment, one opinion, make you turn away from that which you know is good.