how to write emotional fiction article

The first is to report what characters are feeling so effectively that readers feel something too.

We have emotions on the surface and emotions underneath. To learn more about how to make a strong emotional impact in your fiction, check out The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass. by Todd A.

To critique, teach, or motivate? 2. To put it simply, when character emotions are highly painful, pull back. An example. Sometimes, as a writer, our plot dictates the actions of the character. Following are just two of the multiple methods for crafting emotion as detailed by Mass in his book: Find a moment in your story when your protagonist is unsettled, moved, disturbed, or facing a difficult choice, and write down all of the emotions that are hidden and unhidden.

For example, to push the readers toward dread, panic or terror, you need to create the impression that these emotions are in no way inevitable. Telling the reader what to feel is a sure-fire way to make sure they won’t really feel it. Maybe pity for the parents, empathy or blame for the driver, impatience for the ambulance to arrive, and so on. We also have to remember that our most important characters are a confusing mass of emotions at different points in their evolution. They make judgments that don’t agree with yours. When outward actions stir us, it’s not the actions we read that have stirred us but that we have stirred ourselves. Share this Posted in Guest Post , Writing Advice and tagged fiction , fiction craft , fiction writing , novel writing . No. This offer expires July 29, 2012. Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, prickling with suspense and chewing their fingernails to the nub, is a good day for Joslyn. Pick up her latest thriller.

For centuries, the myth of the starving artist has dominated our culture, seeping into the minds of creative people and stifling their pursuits.

There are the emotions our characters feel. Meh. The feelings that writers first choose to write are often obvious, easy, and safe. Readers come in all varieties, each looking for something a little different in their ideal reading experience. Yet those feelings also need to be real and true; otherwise, they will come across as contrived—they’ll ring false and fail to ignite the reader’s emotions. And write it with conviction: Whatever it is, write about those things that punch you in the throat and stir your insides. Research shows that readers want this, too. Create an alternative to these emotions. Dig a little deeper. We’ve all felt fear and anger. You can actually use many of the same techniques in writing about a short story as you do in writing about non-fiction articles. They read to be entertained, affected. © 2016 LitReactor, LLC | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service. How can that be? Write that down too. It won’t do to hope we will move our readers in some way. Finally, write a passage dedicated to this moment in your story with the hopes of being able to add those layers of the emotion explored. What was it that stirred that reaction within you? Perhaps the guard is the protagonist, and, the normally brave and loyal guard, failed because some emotion got in the way on this day. Authors Share Advice. An experience, sure, but what kind of experience?

So, how do you write words that will move people, and potentially even play a part in breaking the frozen sea inside of them? It explains that when showing works the thing we should look at is not why it works but when. Remember that Montag is a reman who has enjoyed starting fires. Of course, you can see any of these methods applied across all genres.

There are two facets of emotion in fiction: conveying what your character is feeling and evoking emotion in your reader. As I was writing my first novel, there were many times where tissues had to guard my keyboard from falling tears. Readers read under the influence of their own temperaments, histories, biases, morality, likes, dislikes, and peeves. They are meant to thrash about with life. Sign up for courses that will help you write for life! Yet, it is just as important— if not more so— than a great plot or compelling characters. " *Photo credit: Creative Donkey (Creative Commons).

Don’t drag on too long.

It’s actually quite simple: Except that part is not always easy. I always say, “I write truth for money and lies for therapy.”. This objective, wry, reportorial approach serves Quick’s purpose well because if we were asked to swallow the inner emotional life of Pat Peoples, we couldn’t. We never experience a single, isolated emotion. What can they do? Everyone Wants Barnes & Noble to Survive. No! Humor and objective showing create a safety zone. 3.The sentence itself. Action is an opportunity for us to feel something, not a cause of feeling something.

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