Describing the sensation

[Kiaory]

...So, yeah, as a sneezfic author, I was just wondering what everybody's preferences were. There seem to be a lot of ways to put it into words. If it helps, use the answers to filling in the blank in the following sentence:

"As the cloud of pepper rolled over him/her, he/she began to feel a(n) [BLANK] welling up in his/her nose"

[Oolia]

I like "prickle" because to me, that's the closest thing to what I experience. But to be honest, I love all of them and they are wonderful to keep some variety in the descriptions.

I also like when the sneeze is explained in a more "unique" or specific way rather than just one word. I'm not so good at it, but the person here that I view as the QUEEN of descriptive sneeze-action is Garnet. I don't know how she does it, but MY GOD.

I often go back to her stories to get inspiration when I write mine... I promise I don't COPY it!

[Shamaël]

I personally love the word "itch". For me, it sounds... urgent and unavoidable. In fact, I didn't even know the exact meaning or translation of most of these words before I came on this forum. (For me, almost all of them are now a turn on. ) It's very strange. In French, I don't have the impression we have that much words to describe a sneeze (and the most appropriate in my opinion would be "picotement", the equivalent for "tingling"), but I've never tried to describe a sneeze in my own language (and I avoid as much as I can to utter the word itself).

2 hours ago, Oolia said:

I also like when the sneeze is explained in a more "unique" or specific way rather than just one word.

I completely agree with this. I am amazed by the skills of some authors when they describe a sneeze. I also wondered if people in general prefer when the sneeze in described "from the inside" (with the point of view of the sneezer) or with the point of view of an external observer?

[Chanel_no5]

3 hours ago, Aliena H. said:

I personally love the word "itch". For me, it sounds... urgent and unavoidable.

YES, this!! A tickle sounds lighter and more avoidable. I do prefer a variety however. Tickle, tingle, itch, prickle, irritation, burning, stinging...  

Uuh, where was I? Yeah. Variety.

 

3 hours ago, Aliena H. said:

I also wondered if people in general prefer when the sneeze in described "from the inside" (with the point of view of the sneezer) or with the point of view of an external observer?

In general I prefer to know how the sneezer feels. Every torturous detail. But I also like descriptions of buildup and sneeze and body movements connected to it. So I usually enjoy third-person fiction lots more than first-person fics, or observations, because then I can have both. *greedy*  

 

[Heathcliff]

This is a hard choice, because I like a variety of descriptions. But I voted 'tickle' as it's hard to beat that for me, it's a sexy word.

Great idea for a survey by the way! I enjoy topics examining how we talk about sneezing, and stuff like that.

[Joal 555]

I also voted for "tickle" as that seems to fit best for me.

 

[SterlingSilver]

This is a really fun topic, Kiaory! 

I chose "irritation" because for some reason, thinking of a nose as "irritated" is really sexy to me? It's like, not only is there something bothering it, but it also carries this personification of someone's nose being angry/frustrated about it. I don't know why, but the idea of a nose being so annoyed by something that it takes matters into its own jurisdiction whether the person owning said nose wants it to happen or not-... mmm~  haha

It sounds super silly when I type it out... 

[Chanel_no5]

28 minutes ago, BlackScatter said:

It sounds super silly when I type it out... 

No, it sounds super hot...  

 

[gingerdean]

Wow, this was hard! I sat and thought on this for way too long.   I finally went with tickle. It's such a sweet, sexy word, and I love the thought of the sneezing process starting off with a light tickle and slowly building up to a sneeze. 

I love me some variety too, though