: Re: How do I define smells I have never experienced? I am a lifelong writer, who was also born without an ability to smell. I have been trained to engage the reader by applying the five senses,

@Tiffany377

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TL;DR

Focus on sight, hearing, and emotions. Don't worry about smell.

I have been trained to engage the reader by applying the five senses, or as many of the five as is practical without becoming excessive.

I disagree with your training. Good use of the senses can enhance a story, but they are not necessary to tell an enjoyable story. Don't try to cram things where they don't belong because you're slavishly following a "rule"!

When you go to a movie, how much do you taste and touch compared to seeing and hearing? None at all! It's the same with smell.

Offhand, I can't think of a story that used smell, taste, touch, balance or any other sense apart from sight and hearing. Actually, that's not true I just thought of one: Ether Breather by Theodore Sturgeon. However, smell was an important plot element in that story, not just used for atmospherics.

Don't use sight, hearing, touch, and taste all in one paragraph and leave out smell, because people will notice that only one was not mentioned. In fact, don't use five senses in a single paragraph at all! That smacks of following a rule!

There are other senses that people don't often think about, such as balance. It's not necessary to mention that the character is balanced when they're walking. You only mention what is unusual. The character is walking as if they're drunk. Another character looks like they've had extensive dance training, etc.

Now that being said, let's say you're going to use smell sparingly if at all:

Read a lot and notice how other authors you respect use smell. Emulate their use of smell if you can.
You have an editor, right? Or someone you trust to give you constructive criticism before the story is finished? Trust them to guide you when you want to use smell.
Not everything has a smell, and we're not constantly smelling things the same way we're not constantly tasting things. Learn when it's appropriate to use smell. If you say "the smell of dandelions" most people will be left scratching their heads. If you say "the smell of a pine forest" most people will think of coolness, the tall trees, the pine needles on the ground, etc. Smell evokes other senses, mostly sight and hearing. You remember what you saw and heard, and how that made you feel when you smelt that smell.
Smells are usually very subtle. However, if your character finds a body that's been dead for a couple of days, it will smell and it will be very strange if you don't mention it as the character should have a reaction from it. Think about a scene inside a building next to a busy road. The characters can probably hear a low sound from the cars outside. But is it important to mention that fact or does it get in the way of the story? However, if one of the cars blows up, you definitely need to mention it, again because the characters are expected to react to it.

Not all senses are equally important. Focus on the important ones for people which are sight and hearing. Everything else can be ignored without the reader noticing. If you have to use smell, use it in such a way that it evokes sight and hearing.

Last thought: in The Good Place (TV series), there are frozen yogurt shops with an almost infinite number of flavours. The flavours include: raspberry sorbet, potato chip, Maine lobster, the perfect high five, skinny dipping, cancelled plans, empty inbox, inside jokes, stardust, and full cell phone battery. Eleanor says the last flavour makes her feel relaxed. What is "full cell phone battery" flavour? It's the feeling of satisfaction you have from knowing you have a full phone battery. Smells are the same. It's the (emotional) feeling you get from the taste or smell that's important.

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