Scent-Free Writing - Pam Mytroen

What I want my readers to feel

I have been known to get so caught up in a movie that I will yell out loud in the theatre. I have squeezed my popcorn bucket and hollered at Liam Neeson, "Get out! Get out of the car!” and fervently screamed "Please, please grab the gun!" 

Both times I noticed my teens had left the theatre before the lights came back up. So, naturally, when I first began writing I felt my mission was to evoke a dramatic response from my readers. They would pull kleenex after kleenex from the box and stuff their fist in their mouth to stop the sobbing.  They would sit back in their chair and shake their heads in awe at my finely crafted pieces.  

After a few published articles I waited for my inbox to fill with notes of thanks, or for the phone to ring. Thankfully I had four children to take care of so I got yanked back to reality pretty fast. Granted, three people did say a very quick thank you for my writing when I spotted them at the local drugstore, after I trapped them with my shopping cart in the "Depends" section. One lady even said that without my writing in the paper, it was not worth reading. (I have a feeling that she yells in theatres and spills her popcorn too). But most people didn’t even know I was writing. In fact, they are still surprised when they discover that I have articles and stories published. Hmmm . . . not exactly the soulful applause I had hoped for. 

Then one day something happened that changed my approach to writing. I still have the scar. I had opened the file of an interview I had written, wanting to remind myself of my outstanding talent, and pat myself on the back again. I hadn’t finished reading the first 3 lines before I was so moved I nearly bit my lip in half to stop the tears. Between sobs I mumbled, "I can’t believe I wrote this garbage!” In my attempt to impress, to draw a tear, I had layered heavily perfumed phrases, one on top of the other. In today’s world, my writing would not have been allowed in most public buildings due to allergies and sensitivities. People would have had to bring their nasal spray along every time they read my stuff to clear the sinus headaches and stuffy noses. Purple prose, I believe it’s called, had so clouded my writing that even if my readers had cried from the sheer beauty, the most they would have benefitted was an olfactory catharsis.

These days what I want my reader to feel is connection. Just to understand what I’m trying to say. I go for the simple wording when possible, and leave the lotions and perfumes in the desk drawer.

I’m happy with a much more sedated response now. A nod of the head is sufficient, a moment of enlightenment, or a resolve to make a small change in their lives. Oh I suppose I wouldn’t protest if they did a spin in their computer chair or even enjoyed a chuckle or two. A scene I like to imagine from my readers, instead of sneezing off the perfumed-prose, is to see them lifting their hands in praise to a majestic Creator or bowing their knee to an amazing Savior.  I don't corner people anymore with my shopping cart, but I wouldn't object either if they yelled out loud and spilled their popcorn while reading my writing. It sure would be nice, though,  if they sent an email to let me know, because after all, my children are grown now and I have time to sit all day waiting for the "ding" in my inbox. 

Pam Mytroen