Skip to main content

Do Not Touch


As I’ve been combing the streets of Paris I’ve been keeping all my senses at attention, as every good writer should.  Except, there's one missing… touch.  It’s interesting as I evaluate my experiences I realize I’m very good at seeing, smelling, tasting and hearing but I always forget to include the tactile experience (unless I come across an animal that needs patting).  I guess that’s a good thing in the city I am currently exploring since everywhere we go (I’m referring to the dozens of museums we’ve visited) there are signs that say “Ne Touchez Pas!”  It’s okay, really, since the sites, sounds and smells of Paris are spectacular enough.  

Fresco on the ceiling in Opera Garnier...not sure who the artist is

Absorbing Aromas and Art

Yesterday, I commented to my mother-in-law, with whom I’m traveling, that we’ve savored crepes in the gardens at Versailles, sipped wine on the Left Bank and swilled beer in a pub on the Grand Boulevard.  So, we had taste totally covered.  Any time I'm writing about eating in the future, I'll have loads of memories from which to pull.  We’ve inhaled the smells of the patisseries and boulangeries as we’ve meandered down cobblestoned streets and have paused appreciatively to absorb the works of the masters.  I haven’t really felt the need to touch the Rembrandt at the Jacquemart Andre or the many Monet murals at the Orangerie.  I've been happy to get drawn into them visually, which I did especially with one particular Monet.   As I gazed at the panels stretched across the width of the room, I was sure a floor to ceiling image of a face leaped out at me from the canvass! 

Describing Touch

But, where does touch come in?  As a writer I always pride myself in being able to experience things with all the senses in order to draw on vibrant, multi dimensional memories when sitting down to write descriptive prose.  Now I know that I must concentrate on including touch as I wander through life and, as I go through yet another edit of my novel, I must remember to add some tactile descriptions.  Not to mention, noticing good examples of descriptions of how something ‘feels’ on the finger tips when I'm reading for pleasure!

Comments

Expat Forever said…
Lucky you to be in Paris. So long time I haven't been in my homecountry and especially Paris.
Happy to learn you are working on a novel ...
Yes, it's been very exciting. Every day brings a new adventure. Sadly, we are leaving today but I do have a good start on an outline!
Katie Foster said…
Ah Paris! Roger has promised we will go there next spring. Your descriptions are so vivid I can see and smell the city already. Touching? Well, we will just have to wait and see. Travel safe.
Yes Katie, you guys must go. It was a sensory horn of plenty! If you want warmth though, go in June. The day we visited the Jacquemart-Andre Museum (a must) we looked out the window and it was hailing. It did help us decide to stay and have lunch in the museum's cafe, which was to die for!!! I reminded myself that "He" does work in mysterious ways :)
Zvezdana said…
Hi Anne,
Your trip sounds wonderful. I am so glad you had a lovely time with your mom and mom in law.
That's so precious. I love the descriptions of Paris, especially the food:)) Hope to make it there one day too...
How is the novel coming along?
Hugs
Hi Zvezdana,
Glad you enjoyed it! I've had to take a break from the novel to do some paid client work but I am still adding the detail we talked about while simultaneously sending queries to agents.
Fingers crossed!
Anne

Popular posts from this blog

Adverbs & Cliches in a Nutshell - Guest Post by Jessica Bell

Too many adverbs and clichés in your writing? I've got just the fix for you. by Jessica Bell Writers constantly have rules thrown at them left, right, and center. Show, don’t tell! Stop using so many dialogue tags! More sensory detail! More tension! Speed up the pace! Yada yada yada ... it can become overwhelming, yes? I used to feel overwhelmed by it all too. In fact, I still do sometimes. It’s hard enough to get the words on the page, let alone consider how to put them there. In Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird , she says that in order not to be overwhelmed, a writer needs to focus on short assignments. She refers to the one-inch picture frame on her desk and how that little picture frame reminds her to focus on bite-sized pieces of the whole story. Basically, if you focus on one small thing at a time, the story will eventually come together to create a whole. I believe the same applies to learning the craft of writing. If writers focus on one aspect of the craft at a time, t

Virtual Book Tour for The Healing Begins April 23

As we approach launch day for Lynda Faye Schmidt's novel, The Healing , a women's fiction/family drama based on the author's life, we're excited to announce the blog tour schedule and introduce you to the bloggers and book reviewers who have joined the tour. The tour begins on launch day, April 23rd. Take a look, follow these bloggers and make sure you visit on the tour dates indicated (check back regularly for updates): Pre-Tour - March 2 - Thrive Global - pre-launch announcement  April 16 - Fit for Joy - pre-launch podcast interview with Lynda April 23 - IndieView - author Q&A with Lynda April 24 -  Canadian Bookworm  - featuring a guest blog by Lynda, "What Inspired Me" April 26 - Dartmouth Book Exchange - author spotlight April 29 - Storybook Reviews - review May 4 -  Help Me Sara  - podcast interview May 13 -  My Question Life  - review and author interview June 30 - Reader's Favorite - review  As new bloggers come on board we will update our

The Author-Preneur – Are you Ready for it? Book review: APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur by Guy Kawasaki and Shawn Welch

“Starting your book is only the first five miles of a twenty-six mile marathon that’s one-third of a triathlon.” APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur If you’re a self-published author or are contemplating taking the plunge (for whatever reason), be prepared for the demand of being an ‘Author-Preneur.’ Actually, it’s not a bad idea to do it even if you’re traditionally published. Start switching your mind-set from, ‘I’ve got to sit down and get a chapter done today’ to ‘I’ve got to sit down and write a chapter today AND post a tweet about my progress, share a sneak preview on Facebook, take that tutorial on how to convert to ebooks, and review the cover design proposals that are sitting in my in-box.’ There are plenty of books, blogs, websites, newsletters and videos out there on how to do it all... some helpful and others not so much. One that I would highly recommend is Guy Kawasaki’s and Shawn Welch’s APE: Author, Publisher,Entrepreneur . It takes you through the entire