Firing up the Five Senses

I’ve been unplugged and haven’t worked on my WiP for well over a week. Phew—just wanted to get that off my chest. Actually, I’m okay with that—I’ll just have to write like a house on fire in September.

Speaking of fire—I have a few pictures to share.

Last Thursday we woke up to a pristine blue sky. One of those idyllic carefree days of summer—well to be perfectly honest it was brutally hot and we were complaining about that a bit and maybe praying for just a little rain. In mid-afternoon it looked as if storm clouds were rolling in but as the cowpoke pointed out—it looked like rain but smelled like smoke.

Within thirty minutes the sun and sky were obliterated and bits of ash started to fall. The forest fire is burning many miles from here, yet it is impossible not to feel a bit anxious when confronted by an element on the rampage.

The intermittent roar of water bombers and choppers passing overhead compounds the anxiety. Living on the edge of a disaster has the feel of a war zone.

Three Huey’s have flown over since I’ve been writing this—I recognize the sound of their engines and their whirring rotors. They’re much louder than the smaller birddogs that guide the planes carrying loads of fire retardant to the drop zones. Yet not as loud as the big water bombers.

I realize it is a war zone—the conflicts are numerous. The elements, fire, earth, wind, and water clashing with each other, and with the men who are battling for control.

Sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch—my senses are stirred and working on overdrive. I wanted to use more description in the writing of this but while a part of my brain is working on how to incorporate these elements into my writing, another part of me is concerned with the fire and how it’s affecting the evacuees, their livestock, and their lands.

I should be working on my WiP today but my thoughts are focused elsewhere. I suppose some days are meant for experiencing life and others are meant for writing about it.

Linda Sandifer over at Writing Out West has written some excellent posts on the senses.

I used a simile in this post. I learned about similes and some other fun stuff from Kathryn over at tender graces last week. Breaking the rules is a lot more fun when you know what they are!