Guest Writer: Author Carmen Peone
Subject: 10 Ways To Take Your Reader On An Emotional Journey
Our number one job as writers is to take our readers on an emotional journey. Yes, it's great to have a technically pure manuscript, but it we don't touch the reader's hearts, they close the book, put it aside, and replace it.
So, if you don't want to be replaced by someone else, follow these tips.
1. Show, don't tell. I love this quote by Henry Matisse. "I do not literally paint the table, but the emotion it produces upon me." We can do this by showing what our characters do on the page in action and dialogue, and not by telling the reader about it in the narrative.
2. Use active verbs. Would you rather read She roped the calf, or "You dirty bugger, git over here!" Henry, the red-and-white calf Rita Runninghorse had secretly named, darted sideways as she winced at the pain in her sides, gathered her lariat, and tried for another loop. (Broken Bondage, Seven Tine Ranch Romance, Carmen Peone)
3. Use specific nouns. There's a huge difference between a shack, adobe, cabin, and mansion. Or a weathered metal and a glossy oak desk.
4. Incorporate the 5 senses. Have your readers hear the blast of a car horn or the cry of a newborn, see the brilliant rose, feel its soft petals, taste the cinnamon and creamy vanilla in the rolls, and smell the autumn's crisp air.
5. Use metaphors. And use them sparingly. A few examples include:
A picnic on a dock on a quiet, secluded night with only the crickets singing love songs to the couple where they can share their hearts for Romance.
Drop your character in a tornado, hurricane, or wildfire, using action verbs like careen and thundered for Chaos and panic.
You can use the beauty outside to accentuate frustration by placing someone in an office doing paperwork when she'd rather be outside horseback with the other cowhands but can't because she's the CEO of the ranch, making her feel trapped.
6. Use symbols. Your story only needs one. Symbolism can show, the strength of the land or who the character is. It can be a recipe, a wedding dress, a ring, the sun, cowboy boots, or spurs. Here's one from my book Renewed Hope, Seven tine Ranch Romance.
Her eyes lifted to a charcoal sketch that hung on a wall over the bed. An eagle feather, its base a woman with long hair, a red palm painted over her mouth. The fingers ran up one side of her face, the thumb on the other side-the symbol used for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women.
7. Snappy dialog and subtext are some of the best tools an author can have. Here's a fun excerpt from Captured Secrets, Sevent Tine Ranch Romance, Carmen Peone.
He dropped his saddle and pad on the floor and slammed the door shut. "You crazy-stubborn-determined-irrational woman! You said you were going on a short ride." She wanted to hurt him or hold him. Anything to calm the terror clawing at her insides. "Stubborn? Irrational? With everything I've been through, the length of my ride is all you're concerned about? You arrogant-cocky-egotistical-" He reached her in two strides, tossed the knife aside, and pulled her into his grasp. "You scared me half to death."
8. Action, action, action! If you want your reader to keep turning pages, drop your characters on the page ten minutes late and have them exit the scene ten minutes early to leave the reader wanting more. It's best to vary the intensity, both the characters and the readers need a break. But keep the tension on every page, even if it's micro.
9. Make sure your character has strong motives and stakes. Stakes drive emotion because they are the WHY behind the main character's motives. What's at stake anyway? A job, love, health, one's reputation? Whatever you choose, make it matter.
10. When in doubt, interview your character. Ask:
What do you think about what just happened?
What are your choices?
What will you do next and why? (Always ask why.)
What is the worst thing that could happen to you right now?
Remember...
"Strong emotion-so often ducked in real life-must be at the center of your story." - Jack M Bickham, The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Guest Writer: Author Carmen Peone
Thank you for being a guest writer, Carmen. Look forward to having you on again.
Many blessings,
- Grace Thorson
So, if you don't want to be replaced by someone else, follow these tips.
1. Show, don't tell. I love this quote by Henry Matisse. "I do not literally paint the table, but the emotion it produces upon me." We can do this by showing what our characters do on the page in action and dialogue, and not by telling the reader about it in the narrative.
2. Use active verbs. Would you rather read She roped the calf, or "You dirty bugger, git over here!" Henry, the red-and-white calf Rita Runninghorse had secretly named, darted sideways as she winced at the pain in her sides, gathered her lariat, and tried for another loop. (Broken Bondage, Seven Tine Ranch Romance, Carmen Peone)
3. Use specific nouns. There's a huge difference between a shack, adobe, cabin, and mansion. Or a weathered metal and a glossy oak desk.
4. Incorporate the 5 senses. Have your readers hear the blast of a car horn or the cry of a newborn, see the brilliant rose, feel its soft petals, taste the cinnamon and creamy vanilla in the rolls, and smell the autumn's crisp air.
5. Use metaphors. And use them sparingly. A few examples include:
A picnic on a dock on a quiet, secluded night with only the crickets singing love songs to the couple where they can share their hearts for Romance.
Drop your character in a tornado, hurricane, or wildfire, using action verbs like careen and thundered for Chaos and panic.
You can use the beauty outside to accentuate frustration by placing someone in an office doing paperwork when she'd rather be outside horseback with the other cowhands but can't because she's the CEO of the ranch, making her feel trapped.
6. Use symbols. Your story only needs one. Symbolism can show, the strength of the land or who the character is. It can be a recipe, a wedding dress, a ring, the sun, cowboy boots, or spurs. Here's one from my book Renewed Hope, Seven tine Ranch Romance.
Her eyes lifted to a charcoal sketch that hung on a wall over the bed. An eagle feather, its base a woman with long hair, a red palm painted over her mouth. The fingers ran up one side of her face, the thumb on the other side-the symbol used for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women.
7. Snappy dialog and subtext are some of the best tools an author can have. Here's a fun excerpt from Captured Secrets, Sevent Tine Ranch Romance, Carmen Peone.
He dropped his saddle and pad on the floor and slammed the door shut. "You crazy-stubborn-determined-irrational woman! You said you were going on a short ride." She wanted to hurt him or hold him. Anything to calm the terror clawing at her insides. "Stubborn? Irrational? With everything I've been through, the length of my ride is all you're concerned about? You arrogant-cocky-egotistical-" He reached her in two strides, tossed the knife aside, and pulled her into his grasp. "You scared me half to death."
8. Action, action, action! If you want your reader to keep turning pages, drop your characters on the page ten minutes late and have them exit the scene ten minutes early to leave the reader wanting more. It's best to vary the intensity, both the characters and the readers need a break. But keep the tension on every page, even if it's micro.
9. Make sure your character has strong motives and stakes. Stakes drive emotion because they are the WHY behind the main character's motives. What's at stake anyway? A job, love, health, one's reputation? Whatever you choose, make it matter.
10. When in doubt, interview your character. Ask:
What do you think about what just happened?
What are your choices?
What will you do next and why? (Always ask why.)
What is the worst thing that could happen to you right now?
Remember...
"Strong emotion-so often ducked in real life-must be at the center of your story." - Jack M Bickham, The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Guest Writer: Author Carmen Peone
About the Guest Writer: Carmen Peone is an award-winning author. She has won the Willa Literary Award, a Will Rogers Medallion Award, and the LAURA Short Fiction Award. When she isn't writing, she can be found on her horse, on the water, or in the woods shooting nature photos for her daily haiku poems. You can find all of her books on Amazon, her website here, or at ...And Books, Too! (andbookstooonline.com)
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Many blessings,
- Grace Thorson
Thank you for having me, Grace!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by, Carmen!
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