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In this three-part online Writing About Scent series, perfumer and writer John Biebel leads three sessions exploring all aspects of the trickiest work of all: describing smell.

Class 1: Creativity
Expand your creative capacities when writing about scent.

In the first of the three-part Writing About Scent series, John Biebel focuses on expanding your creative capacities when writing about scent. How can we approach a vocabulary for describing smell? How can we extend it? John believes that if you can talk about it, you can write about it: let’s learn how. The class will look at distinct writing projects, such as describing smells (something that benefits both perfumers and journalists), reviewing fragrances, with a brief cover of marketing descriptions of perfumes that go beyond our typical expectations. Bring something with you to smell as a reference, a notebook or your laptop, and join us as a group to investigate the imaginative world of scented words.

Class 2: Form
An emphasis on real-world applications

In the second class, we build on the techniques explored in week one, and expand to investigate  another key component of writing: form. What is the form that the written word should take? What does the length of a piece of writing say about a topic that we are discussing? Is there inherent merit in short, well-crafted writing? Designed for the writer who is thinking about real-world applications, we will look at how form impacts the value of our words, and how to use form to put the proper emphasis on outcomes. Some of the specific topics we’ll cover: understanding our audience, exploring different written forms, using forms across different media platforms, and moving between the verbal and the written word. Let’s take our creativity and guide it into the most effective channels to inspire.

Class 3: Editing for Clarity
Editing to enhance the impact of our words

In the final class, we explore the all important and often-forgot final step: editing. Revising our words is important work, but what does that work consist of? What are the differences between a piece written in a fit of creativity and a piece honed by the editorial process? When is writing done? In this class the assembled will look at how revision impacts the value of our words, and how to edit to focus the emphasis of our arguments. Let’s kill our darlings for the sake of focused communication!

Class meets: October 17, 24, 31
All classes are recorded and available for view for a week after each session ends.