How emotionally involved are you in reading or writing some scenes?
"A story must engage the heart as well as the head; a story cannot just play clever games with language or structure or generic expectations but must have a beating, emotional heart at its core."
~ Stephanie Friedman
My novels are character driven. Therefore, an emotional-driven expedition.
Emotion- driven. It's not about the plot, it's about how the plot affects the protagonist.
When I read a scene in a novel, even a well-crafted scene, if it fails to have the all-important quality of 'emotional resonance,' it is a shell. Where are the emotion elements? The intensity? The responsive chord in the reader?
We read textbooks to comprehend; we read literature to feel.
To quote Gordon Lish, "It's not what happens to people on the page; it's about what happens to a reader in his heart and mind."
I strive to layer the details. Since many of my stories deal with social issues, may very intense. The reader must feel the rain and react emotionally. The key is knowing where to linger, inviting my readers into my world and allowing them time to feel.
When writing I pay attention to things in the world that speak to me, moments that resonate with me. I take notes, often with my iVoice app. I gather those bits into a folder (physical or cyber) to later fuel my writing.
As the editors remind us: Give us characters we identify with or care about.
Happy Reading & Writing
Connie
Connie
Please visit these participating authors blogs:
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_seaAnne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Dr. Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/emotion-in-writing
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
5 comments:
"We read textbooks to comprehend; we read literature to feel."
This is spot on, exactly right. Says it all in one sentence.
:)
Bob
Enjoyed reading your comments and agree.
I found your making audios about what certain situations very interesting and familiar. I do the something similar but work through writing, usually telling about places I am in, like a classroom, the beauty parlor, or the airport, that cover the appearance, smell, sounds and feel of the place.
Thank you :-) Dt. Bob
Robin I like that idea. Sensory details are so quickly forgotten--so the intensity and emotional reaction is lost :-(
I like your creating the right atmosphere idea. I do use music much the same. If I need something intense and growing in intensity, for instance, Ravel's Bolero, is perfect. I have soft, romantic music, peppy move it right along stuff etc.
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