Scent and smell are such strong elements and can set a scene. It affects us more than we realize, and it should be written into our books, both fiction and nonfiction. Maybe it's the smell of a sofa the dog has sat on, the scent of clean sheets fresh from the line (or in my case, the dryer). It can expose a whole story, strengthen an emotion, bring you to conclusions you never had before, and provide a sensual rhythm to the writing:

"The virile redolence of cigars, the pungent nip of pipe smoke, the tortoiseshell richness they evoked, constantly lured me out of the parlor on the porch, though it was the parlor I preferred, due to the presence of the Conklin sisters, who played our untuned piano with a gifted, rollicking lack of airs." -Truman Capote, The Thanksgiving Visitor

“I wasn't sure why but it seemed to have something to do with this place. Saigon. These streets are always full of that kind of mix of smells, some sweet something, fruit or flowers or incense, but something else too in the same air, dry rot or old fish or the exhaust from the motorbikes." -Robert Olen Butler, The Deep Green Sea

Recently, someone asked me about writer's block. Here's an idea: if you're stuck, start writing about something you smell. Describe it. Where were you when you first smelled it? What does it remind you of? Who were you with?

Bone up on your vocabulary. Try to find new ways to describe a smell. Combine smells that don't go together (Butler uses "flowers or incense," then follows it with "dry rot or old fish”). This not only gives you a range of smells, it also gives you a hint of chaos. Play with the words until you're describing something in a new way.

The caveat is to use restraint and take care not to over do it for your style and the piece you're writing. After all, too much scent is like being besieged by a perfume models in a department store, determined to spritz you at every step. A smell can kick off a flurry of writing.