Monday, November 14, 2011

Going to the Dark Side




After the release of Courting Miss Adelaide in 2008, a couple readers asked if I’d been abused. I found the question startling. Though some characters in the story endured abuse, I assured them I’d been blessed with a wonderful childhood and marriage, a good life. That question got me thinking—how do writers find the emotion necessary to write the dark side of life?

Shirley Jump and several Seekers shared how they write character emotions.

Cara James, Love by the Book, July 2011.

I think it's easy to empathize with other people's tragedies etc. because we've all lived through difficult moments or periods in our lives and managed to overcome and move on. The circumstances will differ for everyone, but the emotions are the same.

Mary Connealy, Out of Control, Ten Plagues and eBook The Sweetest Gift in an anthology “At Home for Christmas”—all available now.

I am pathologically non-confrontational. I will go to extreme lengths to avoid a difficult issue. This is not something I'm proud of. I am far more likely to smile and go along and tell little white lies to sooth a situation, then later gossip and stew and pout. It's not a good thing. But out of this stewing comes books. All the things I want to say but absolutely never ever would.

So I shoot people and I write villains who are cruel, heroes who issue orders and expect obedience, and heroines who are sassy and say whatever is on their minds right into the hero's face. I think of it as cheap psychotherapy.

Debby Giusti, THE CAPTAIN'S MISSION, LIS, October 2011.

Most of us have experienced some type of loss in our lives. Perhaps a job, a marriage, a loved one. Maybe it's been something less significant. Even a small loss that seems unimportant to others can cause struggle and stress. Those of us who are writers know too well about the pain of rejection and the feelings of unworthiness that can come after we read that sorry-but-I'm-going-to-pass-on-this-story letter. Even if we haven't experienced big hurts or anything as significant as our characters may be going through, we can still pull from the feelings we've had and apply them to our writing.

Ruth Logan Herne, Mended Hearts, LI, September 2011

Some from childhood, from remembering, but mostly empathy. The urge to help, to make things right. To fix. And it's directed at women with traumatic pasts, my way of applying balm to old wrongs.

But I believe the gift of the spirit starts the idea. Then I tap into the emotions of the it, the whys and wherefores. How angry would you be if your family was taken from you? What would you do to get them back and HOW HELPLESS would you feel if there was nothing you could do?

Right there, imagining that helplessness, I can feel the person's despair, and from that despair builds grief, guilt, questions, self-loathing, disappointment. So now I've got internal conflict, mental and emotional.

And when I know what the character's personality is (anxious to please, quiet, boisterous, a loner, a joiner, a leader, a quiet assessor) I try to see through his/her eyes how this tragedy would apply to them and then gauge their reactions. Because that personality type makes all the difference in how the problem gets handled.

I don't have to watch sad things. Or prep my head. I simply envision the tragedies around us, the sorrow on people's faces and apply words to it.

Missy Tippens, A House Full of Hope, LI, February 2012.

I mainly use things in my past and twist the emotions to fit the story—so it's experience that's been fictionalized. Other times it's from experiences of friends (like one whose kids chose to live with their dad—which I used in A Family for Faith). And then other times it's purely imagination—like my upcoming book where the hero ruined the heroine's sister's life by introducing her to alcohol (she became an alcoholic and druggie).

Shirley Jump, Family Christmas in Riverbend, December 2011.

I think everyone has tragedies in their lives and dark moments that they can go back to when they want to draw out that emotion in their writing. I remember when I was acting in a play in college, and I couldn’t figure out how to cry in a pivotal scene. The director told me to think of a moment that hurt me badly, and I went back to the day my grandmother died. I conjured that up every night during that scene, and it brought out that layer of emotion for my character. My character was upset about something entirely different, but I could relate to it by tapping into that core emotion of pain and loss. As an author, you don’t have to live the same disappointments and hurts as your characters, you just have to be able to tap into the emotions those events bring. In my December book, for instance, the hero has to deal with some pretty heavy guilt over an accident that he feels responsible for. I’ve never been in the same situation as him, but I could go back to moments of deep regret and pull on those when I was writing the hero’s POV. Writing deep emotion requires getting in touch with yourself, and feeling free enough as a writer to let your gut write the words.

Thanks to all these wonderful writers for sharing their process!






We’ve all experienced trauma and loss and the accompanying emotions. Losing loved ones produces grief and lessons on living. A health scare or bad diagnosis sends emotions into overdrive.






Not everything that enables us to write emotion is negative. We experience the joy of our countless blessings. But we're talking about pain in this post. We've all seen that blessings have a flipside. Falling in love and motherhood are two tickets to an emotional roller coaster ride. When we love someone we share their heartache, their pain. We live through broken arms, broken hearts, high fevers, low grades, lost kids and lost love. We use our experiences, the experiences of others and translate those feelings to the page.



So how do we writers do that?

Writers start with ourselves. We have to first know and care about our characters before we can put ourselves in their skin. Then we dig deep within ourselves for all the life we've seen and experienced. We open that vein and bleed on the page. I'm guessing that after you've written an emotional scene, you're as drained as I am. I cannot write strong emotion for hours.

Writers learn to show rather than tell emotion. We show emotion as actors do through character facial expressions, actions and dialogue.



Writers have another tool at our disposal. We can get into our characters’ heads. We know them. When I'm having trouble writing emotion, I usually don't know my characters well enough to feel how they'd react. Once we know them, we can express this emotion without telling by using significant details in the setting. The weather can reflect or contrast mood. Objects like a cold unlit fireplace can be used to echo the hero’s mood. Readers see their state of mind by how the character sees/describes every aspect of the story.



Writers give characters poignant memories with significant details that grab the reader's heart. We use the five senses to trigger those memories. To bring it all rushing back. But don't linger long. Writing long passages of what happened in the past interrupts the pace.

As I was scanning our Seekerville archives, I was impressed by the knowledge and expertise that's at our fingertips. Several posts talk about writing emotion. If you’d like examples of how to use setting to convey character emotion, check out this Seekerville post and this post.


So let’s talk emotion. For the writers out there, how do you get into your characters’ state of mind and express their emotions?

For the readers, share what in the story makes you laugh and cry.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my January release, An Inconvenient Match.

After all the talk about dark emotion, I brought chilly-weather comfort food. Grab a serving of homemade moist pumpkin bread, steaming chicken noodle soup and creamy tapioca pudding.

149 comments :

  1. Great post, very thought provoking. I saw empathy mentioned a few times and I think that helps a writer create dark emotions. I know when someone hurts I feel their pain even when it's not anything I've experienced myself.

    I've read a few books recently that had me in tears. You know it's a good book when the author has you feeling empathy for a fictional character.

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  2. I've got leftover cinnamon rolls to go with the food Janet brought.

    I think channeling both the good and the bad is what makes it work. Tonight, I emailed a copy of the MS I'm pitching around right now to a friend. Her family has gone through some of the stuff my characters do and I wanted to know if I got it right. I can guess, but we've never gone through what this family did.

    Not exactly. I've dealt with something similar to what the hero does and so was able to draw on that experience, but it's not the same.

    I think that's all you can do. Your best and try to find someone willing who has first hand knowledge and see what they say.

    And on a totally unrelated note...

    It's all over my Facebook at the moment, but...

    I GOT TO MEET MIKE FRANKS!!!!

    Well, Muse Watson is doing a show not too far form here and we got to meet him. Forgot to have him call us probie but ah well. He was very nice - and not just in the 'I have to be nice to fans' way. About 10-15 minutes of actual conversation with us [we were at the end of the picture/autograph line].

    But now, I must get back to NaNoing.

    Thank you, Janet!

    I'd love a chance to win something that doesn't revolve around grammar... ;)

    carolmoncado at gmail dot com

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  3. MMM! Pumpkin bread! I just made chocolate Amish friendship bread so I'll put out a warm loaf of that to share.

    I'm in the middle of writing a really difficult scene with my Hero and Heroine. It's been at least a week and my daughter asks me every morning if I finished. It's become a big joke because these two are sitting at the edge of a pond, dipping their toes in the water on a late summer afternoon. My daughter keeps asking, 'did they take their feet out of the water yet??' Ha! They might have been there forever, but this post has inspired me to get them moving.

    I loved all the notes, but Ruth really struck a chord by saying it starts with the Spirit, then she works from there. :)

    I don't if anyone reads YA here but I was just re-reading the Hunger Games series and making notes. Suzanne Collins is a master at showing emotion in all her characters, which is really tough to do when you're doing 1st person POV. Just a word here, or a phrase there and you FEEL how Peeta loves her, or how threatening the soldiers are.

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  4. Different things will make me laugh. I was reading at the cricket and burst out laughing it was a scene with a big dog, two kids and a small wading pool of water, add two adults who get wet. I had to try explain it to the ones around but it was the heroine trying to hold back the laughter that got me laughing.
    Another book the hero and heroine were going to be killed. On bad guy rationises it in his head and is saying you cant kill them and then run them of the cliff, the coroner will know they died first. He keeps saying this as the other one (who is mad) says things or does things. It was so funny reading how he was thinking that I couldn't stop laughing at times.
    For crying it will be sad scenes It will depend on the scene two.

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  5. Here's the coffee to go with Carol's cinnamon rolls.

    I really related to what Mary said. I'm nonconfrontational, avoid difficult scenes, and am not proud of that in myself. Writing provides a form of therapy.

    Helen

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  6. Thank you for a meaninful post Janet. I like the way you presented the spectrum of emotions and used other authors for their ideas.

    I would love to read your book!

    Jan K.

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  7. Ah, emotions, my Achilles heel. I just decided recently that I write as a form of therapy too, just not the same as Mary's, but because I'm not great with emotions in real life--I attempt to avoid them.

    I used to read for therapy, but I got all mean to myself and upped my therapy and decided I should write romances.

    Ask Andrea, her terms for me are "heart of stone" and "Just like the Bones character" so I'm finding out how to have those emotions by working them up or that's what I'm telling myself anyway. I'm getting better at getting it on the page but getting better in real life....?

    "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."
    -- Robert Frost

    But yeah, it's like acting, when I have to make a woman lose a baby, I go there, etc. And if I cry? Then it's pretty darn emotional! :)

    And Virginia, I just read hunger games. And you're right, she does so well getting across Peeta's love for Katniss. Which made me wonder how Katniss missed it EXCEPT, katniss reminded me of me--the low threshhold for/wall against emotion born out of a difficult childhood/circumstances that I totally sympathized with her not being able to see it even though it was so well written that I wondered how she could miss it.

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  8. Pumpkin bread makes the morning better! Thanks, Janet!

    A lot of my non-fiction writing is about those dark moments. People respond to authors who talk about those common times in our lives of grief, loss and pain.

    But I also like reading the scenes where a hero or heroine just falls apart and is less than stellar towards their loved one or others. If they appear to be up for sainthood as they deal with major issues, the story just isn't as enjoyable to me. Give me real, warts and all. Of course, they need to redeem themselves but I like my characters to be human. It is a trait I have noticed with all the Seeker books.

    Love the cover, Janet. Once again, blessed by the cover angel.

    Hot spiced cider to go with the pumpkin bread!

    Peace, Julie

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  9. Thanks for your post! I think, for me, it's a combination of everything that was said on your post. I use every bit of experience I have at my disposal without even realizing it usually.

    Happy Monday!

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  10. Good morning, Seekerville!

    Virginia, thank you. I think the Holy Spirit's about the rockin'est dude around.

    And Annie, I think your simple words emcompassed an organic writer. You don't necessarily plan... It just comes out of the wealth God has given us.

    Good. Bad. Take it. Use it.

    Very frugal! ;)

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  11. Good morning, Jamie! I agree empathy is a huge part of our ability to relate what others are going through. Getting that onto the page is the trick. Did you study what those authors did that had you in tears? If so, please share.

    Janet

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  12. Morning Janet, What a great post and yes, we do need to call upon emotions, but thankfully we don't have to experience everything.

    I've been accused by my family that I'm bossy. And I guess I am. sigh. But none of them EVER listen.

    So I came to the conclusion that the reason I love to write is I can tell someone what to do and they do it. Mind you, most of my characters do get a mind of their own, but at least they have to listen. LOL

    Thanks Janet and pumpkin bread and tapioca. Oh my, I"m in heaven.

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  13. Carol, thanks for the cinnamon rolls. Love them, especially the calorie free variety!

    Your idea to get the reaction of someone who has endured what your characters are going through in your story is brilliant. Do you have a close relationship with these people?

    What fun to connect with a celebrity like Mike Franks!! Did you give him some of your yummy chocolate chip cookies?

    Janet

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  14. Thanks for the pumpkin bread, Virginia. Delicious!

    You're smart to take notes on how a particular writer you love pulls at your heart strings. I've underlined passages that show, a great teaching tool.

    Ruthy nailed the importance of staying close to the God within us. To His nudging, direction and wisdom.

    Janet

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  15. Jenny, I love when authors make me laugh or cry. Like you, I find it funnier or more poignant when a character holds back emotions.

    Adding humor to what is a dark scene by a wacky character's thoughts is great fun. The contrast between characters makes the scene even funnier. Thanks for sharing your observations.

    Janet

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  16. Your coffee is always a great way to start my day, Helen. Thanks!

    You and Mary aren't the only ones who don't have the nerve to say what characters do. I often think of the right response--after the fact. You know when you're mulling what happened over in your head. Often it may be good it's too late to say it, but it's good practice for snappy dialogue. :-)

    Janet

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  17. Hi Jan K! I've learned so much from other authors. Especially here in Seekerville!

    Thanks for your interest in An Inconvenient Match!

    Janet

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  18. Melissa, thanks for the fabulous Robert Frost quote. It fits perfectly! We can't express what we don't feel. Getting inside a character's skin isn't easy. Getting to that place is a journey for some of us. I'm not a weeper. So if I make myself cry, I know I've nailed the scene.

    Thanks for making the point that characters can miss or even put up a wall to love when their back story is painful.

    Janet

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  19. Oh dear, Janet.
    I'm just chuckling away at Mary's answer. HA!

    I think that's how fantasy works for me.

    And I think it's a God-given writer quality to dive deep into emotions. Mingle that with overactive imaginations and we go where we've never gone before ;-)

    I know as a mother, caregiver, and service provider (all empathy-high callings), I've always felt 'deeply' and experienced emotions 'deeply'. When I watch movies or read books, I FEEL and weep and laugh and want to shoot someone (but the 'shoot someone' usually only happens in Mary or Julie's books ;-)

    There have been very deep things happen in my life personally, which also inspire my writing, but I think it's mostly what many others have written already - empathy.

    I think two things I have to constant consider in my writing though:
    Are the emotional threads deep enough to carry me through to the end of the book?
    Are they plausible?

    But I think those are true for plenty of others too :-)

    Thanks for the great post

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  20. Janet, I've notice the books that make me cry are the ones that stay with me long after I've finished them. Regina Scott's The Irresistible Earl is a good example.

    It has a lot to do with building tension I think. Unfortunately I'm the type of person that wants to tell you what your Christmas gift is before you open it. I'm just too excited to wait. But the waiting is part of the excitement.

    I spent last week at SYTYCW. Incredible! We were able to chat with editors to discuss writing. Mary-Theresa Hussey talked with us about the things not to do. What stuck with me the most was not letting secondary characters tell your story.

    It makes sense but it's so much easier to have little sister tell the hero why the Heroine acts the way she does. But when left to the heroine is wont come out so easily and frustration builds.

    When I read a good book I find myself wanting to yell 'just tell him! over and over. When the truth is finally revealed at the end everyone finally understands and I'm crying happy tears.

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  21. Julie PS, thank you for sharing that the scenes and characters that impact you most are those where the characters fall apart, that have flaws. We writers need to remember to make our characters fail. And suffer. Readers love characters who struggle on their journey to redemption because they feel real.

    Thanks for your sweet words about Seeker books and my cover. And for the hot spiced cider.

    Janet

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  22. Hi Annie! Excellent point that some writers use the sum of their experiences intuitively, without realizing where they find the emotion.

    The hard part is expressing that emotion on the page. Showing emotion is hard, at least for me. But when we get it right, the result is real and tugs at reader hearts.

    Janet

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  23. Morning, Ruthy! No food to share?
    You must be having a busy Monday.

    Janet

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  24. Wonderful point, Sandra. We get to tell our made-up people what to do. Frustrating when even they won't listen. :-)

    Janet

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  25. Good morning, Pepper! In real life, an overactive imagination can be annoying, even scary. But in our writing, we appreciate a bad case of what ifs.

    Thanks for emphasizing that we need to make sure our characters, the emotion of the story, the plot--all of the story elements feel real, plausible. Readers don't appreciate a writer toying with their emotions when the characters reactions don't feel real for them, for anyone.

    Janet

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  26. Delicious goodies this morning, Janet. Thank you!

    Haven't had time to read the previous comments, but I'll share something from Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors by Brandilyn Collins.

    About a dozen of us were blessed to attend a recent workshop where she was one of the instructors.

    Most of her time was spent on this very topic!

    At one point, she said she would turn us all into murderers in about 10 minutes. She proceed to set up and act out a little scene about killing a fly.

    Guess you had to have been there, but by the end, she'd made her point. We all understood the thoughts and emotions that went into MURDERING that annoying fly.

    Her book is one on the recommended list for the Christian Writers Guild. Enjoy!

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  27. Jamie, wonderful insight that rising tension is vital! We do that by tightening the vise on our characters. Raising the stakes. Making things tougher. In a real way.

    Glad you were able to attend the conference! Sounds like you got some terrific wisdom from those who know.

    One thing to remember is not to make the conflict something that could be cleared up with a conversation.

    Janet

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  28. Janet, this was such a great post. enjoyed reading how you Seeker ladies have been able to write deep emotion for your characters. I'm still learning to do this. A writing friend encouraged me to keep an emotional journa. Though I haven't written in it a ton, I have done so to remember when I faced a situation where I felt the same emotion my character is about to feel. That has helped.

    I am also beginning to watch how it's conveyed in body language in movies. Just to get a better idea of how to write showing vs telling.

    I'm hoping to get back here later today. I have a sick kiddo and another one getting ready for school. :)

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  29. Hi KC! I'm relieved the only thing Brandilyn taught you to kill was a fly. :-) I'm sure the session with her was fun! I've got her Getting Into Character writing book. Excellent!

    Janet

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  30. What a great post, Janet!

    The dark side of life is one of those places we always want to avoid, but without it, we lose the potential for that happily ever after ending we're looking for, don't we? The range of emotions is what really makes a book sing.

    The stories I have running around in my head and spilling out onto the page all come from listening - much of my current WIP came from one comment made by an ex-Amish woman in a Bible study group. It's the emotion and untold stories behind these random comments that set my imagination in motion.

    And then when those situations start resonating with the dark corners in our own minds (we all have them!), we can understand the emotion.

    But it takes a real writer to get it down on the page in a way that makes the reader feel the same emotions we do as we write - something all the Seeker books I've ever read have in common!

    Thanks for the breakfast - not just yummy pumpkin bread (and cinnamon rolls and chocolate Amish friendship bread - mmmm) - but also the food for thought!

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  31. Great point Janet, thank you. (I have so much to learn) I'm now looking over some of the wonderful books I've recently read thinking of how each author ended the conflict. How as a reader they brought me to my knees emotionally.

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  32. Hi Jeanne T!

    Sorry about the sick child. Lots of viruses going around.

    When we're kneedeep in heartache or trouble, we might not be able to stand back then and analyize what we feeling. But as soon as we can, getting those feelings down on paper is an excellent idea. Thanks to you and your writer friend!

    Movies are an excellent way to study showing emotions.

    My favorite tool to show is using details to show how the character is feeling.

    Janet

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  33. Great post! Very well written, Janet!

    It does help to experience what your character has, but it's not always essential. For example, we don't really know what it was like to live in the 1800's but we can imagine it. I think the same thing goes for emotion and emotional experiences.

    I'd love to be entered in the drawing!

    -Amanda
    amandabarratt33@gmail.com

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  34. One more thing...

    I'd not realized she was a classically trained actor until we attended the workshop.

    The book is mentioned here:
    http://brandilyncollins.com/about.html

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  35. Jan, thanks for sharing that you get your story ideas from listening. That just blew me away. I tend to look for ideas in history but hadn't thought of closing my history books, and my mouth, and listening.

    We all feel emotion. We all have experienced either personally or through others the full range of emotion, but as you say, getting that emotion on the page is hard. Some writers use props like candles and music to set the mood for them. That doesn't work for mel. If I can get into the scene and become the character, I usually find I can write the emotion. I need uninterrupted quiet to get there. Another whole post. LOL

    Janet

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  36. I agree with what everyone said, Janet! Shoot, I don't have any trouble conjuring up emotion. Emotion comes naturally to me! But then, I'm a very emotional person.

    I usually try to make my heroines more stoic than I am, strong and always trying to hold back their emotions. But emotion is a big part of every scene. It's in there, and the reader is privy to it even if the hero or heroine is holding back.

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  37. Jamie, studying books you love is just an excellent way to learn from the pros. As soon as I get my proposal off to my editor, I'm going to study hooks in the books I love. I want to strengthen mine.

    Janet

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  38. I have to agree with Mary. I don't like conflict. I was way too old before I figured out: Some people just aren't going to like me. And that's okay. Wonderful post! Hmmm... I feel a character coming on....

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  39. Amanda, as one who writes historicals, I couldn't agree more. We just need to do the research so we can bring that reality alive for today's readers.

    Janet

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  40. Good morning, Sherri! Wise words. Maybe something a character needs to learn. :-)

    Janet

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  41. Good morning, Melanie! Holding back emotion is a powerful tool for writers. We all do it, don't we? Do you cry at coffee or greeting card commercials? Or do you fight tears, feeling silly that something can play with your emotions that way?

    Janet

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  42. KC, an actor has a hand up on writing emotion. I've never acted, not even in a school play. Too shy.

    Janet

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  43. Janet,

    I've struggled with writing the emotion in my fiction and have tried to study how to do it.

    I was surprised recently when I read a story I'd written for the newspaper as part of commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness month. I choked up when I reread the part about a woman and her daughter who both tested positive for the breast cancer gene. The mother said she thought it was sadder for the daughter to have a radical mastectomy and hysterectomy to avoid getting cancer than for herself. That just got to me. And I realized that it isn't really described the character's emotions as much as it is feeling what the character feels.

    I don't know if I explained it well, but figuring out 15 ways to say they are sad is not as important as making the reader feel their sadness with them.

    Thanks for the post. I'd love to win the book.

    cathy underscore shouse at yahoo dot com

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  44. ON a less 'dark side' note....I had lunch with Janet on Friday.
    I'm a little weepy just thinking of it. So, so, so fun. Janet!!!!!! It wasn't long enough. We needed two days.

    Also, must include this:
    NEENER NEENER NEENER I'VE GOT JANET'S NEW BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!

    Crazy busy weekend and I only read about one page and I am HAUNTED. I managed to pack it in my CHECKED SUITCASE!!! So I didn't have it on the plane! ARG!!!!!!!!!

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  45. I put a lot of emotion into my comment now didn't I?
    Joy
    Tears
    Anger
    Frustration
    Gloating
    Greed (yikes this list is devolving into the Seven Deadly Sins
    I could add gluttony but that had nothing to do with Janet. :) Just a weekend of endless fun and eating.

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  46. Beautiful post, Janet, and of course, anything to do with "emotions," and I'm SOOOO there!!

    I always judge my books by how many Kleenex I use while reading/editing it (i.e. A Hope Undaunted was a 12-Kleenex read, A Heart Revealed, a ten and Steven's story, A Love Surrendered, a 30-Kleenex read). What I have discovered is the scenes that make me cry the most are the spiritual scenes that tap in to what God has done for me in my life, so I agree with Ruthy that it starts with the Holy Spirit pricking, prodding and stirring our characters like He stirs us.

    You said, "not everything that enables us to write emotion is negative. We experience the joy of our countless blessings." Sooo true, Janet, and one of the best examples I have of that is a scene from A Passion Most Pure where Marcy is lying in bed, missing the warmth of Patrick's breath on the back of her neck when he used to spoon her before he left for the war. Every time I feel the warmth of my husband's breath on my neck in the same manner, I think about that scene and what it feels like -- the rhythm and warm of the breaths, what it would be like to not have that anymore, etc.

    Great topic, Janet!!

    Hugs,
    Julie

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  47. Great post, Janet! It sounds like most authors don't have the experiences. They just extrapolate.

    I love a good book that makes me laugh and cry. I think one of the things I've seen most in contest entries is lack of emotion. Writers have to push themselves and, as you said, bleed on the page. Otherwise, you can have perfect pov, perfect grammar, perfect plotting. But we don't feel anything, don't bond with the characters.

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  48. I love when an author evokes deep emotion when I'm reading a story. I try to do the same in my stories.

    When I'm writing, I put myself as deeply into the minds of my characters as possible. If my heroine is crying, I'm crying. If she has goosebumps, so do I. I make use of my life experiences. While I haven't dealt with the same situations my characters have, I've felt pain, fear, joy, and I tap into those emotional memories.

    Due to the fact that I get so into my characters, I don't do much writing in public places. I don't want the McD's manager thinking me a nut case and asking me to leave. =)

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  49. Such a great topic, Janet! Getting the emotions right on the page is crucial for keeping our readers hooked.

    What hooks me as a reader is when the author shows emotion not through telling ("She was angry." "She cried.") but through action and carefully crafted description, both internal and external.

    Julie does a superb job of that, wrenching emotion from her characters in scenes that draw readers deep into the story. It doesn't matter if you've never had that particular experience. You can still feel every nuance of what the character is going through.

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  50. Thanks, Mary. Just RUB IT IN that you had lunch with Janet and THE REST OF US DIDN'T!!!!!!!!

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  51. CATHY, I love what you said:

    "Figuring out 15 ways to say they are sad is not as important as making the reader feel their sadness with them."

    That's exactly what I'm talking about!

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  52. Hi Cathy! You hit upon something important that I briefly mentioned in my post. The woman's words had a huge impact on you. Her concern for her daughter, her bravery in face of a disease most women fear had you close to tears. The words our characters speak are important. Bravery in face of trouble also raises our emotions. Why we make our characters strong at least much of the time. Those moments when they hit bottom and their true feelings come out are all the more powerful.

    Janet

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  53. Interesting post. What makes me laugh when I'm reading is something unexpected that lightens an otherwise dark moment. Or simply so good ole sarcastic, but not too snarky, humor.

    Tears come from empathizing greatly with the character and either feeling their pain or rejoicing in their blessing.

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  54. Mary, I loved every minute of our time together. Time flew way too fast!

    Bummer you packed An Inconvenient Match. Would've been a convenient time to read. You no doubt used the time wisely and plotted an entire series on the short flight.

    Janet

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  55. Mary, your comments are always rich with emotion. :-)

    Janet

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  56. "Figuring out 15 ways to say they are sad is not as important as making the reader feel their sadness with them."

    Thanks Cathy, that's going on a stick note right now!

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  57. Hi Julie, love you gage your writing by how many tissues you use. I'm sure Missy does the same. :-) I find it hard to cry. So a lump in my throat or stinging eyes equates to a good scene for me.

    Your comment that you think how you'd feel to lose what you cherish most was a kick in the gut. Probably an auto response to what I fear or dread. So readers play a huge role in the impact of our scenes.

    Off for chocolate.

    Janet

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  58. Janet,

    I appreciate your comment in analyzing why that woman's story brought out my emotions. For one thing, I had the privilege of knowing her and she is a strong woman, a force of nature, as they say. I don't think I had ever heard her speak of emotions to any great degree.

    She said when waiting for results of her daughter's biopsy that turned out benign, "I was just falling apart." That gets to me emotionally, even now.

    Also, when she had breast cancer at 45, she said, "I remember praying, 'Dear God, Let me live to raise these children.'"

    Wow, wouldn't she make a great character in a novel?

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  59. Excellent point, Missy. We writers need to make sure our readers bond with our characters. Before they can care about these people and feel what they feel, they need to care. Lots of posts in the archives on creating characters.

    Janet

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  60. LOL, Keli! I write at home, but hadn't thought how embarrassing writing in public could be.

    Can you share any specifics on how you tap into your character's emotions?

    Janet

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  61. I agree, Myra. We have to show not tell emotion.

    Julie does a great job of showing her character's emotions. She also uses powerful verbs that show them act and move.

    Janet

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  62. Hi Patricia! I love unexpected humor, especially in poignant scenes. To watch a character try to deal with painful emotions with humor touches me. Thanks for underscoring the importance of building characters readers care about.

    Janet

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  63. Cathy, to use what you've seen in your friend would make a strong, emotional character. She puts herself after others, after those she loves. We can relate to that kind of love.

    Janet

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  64. Cathy, to use what you've seen in your friend would make a strong, emotional character. She puts herself after others, after those she loves. We can relate to that kind of love.

    Janet

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  65. Lovely post today. I saw myself in so many of the responses to your question. Which I suppose is how I 'go to the dark side.' I see myself in the character's situation. Dip into those same emotions, anger, hurt, fear, regret, etc. Then amp them up and fit them into the character's personality.

    Love the pumpkin bread on a cold day like today!

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  66. Mmm... Chicken noodle soup! Count me in - for the soup and the drawing. :D

    What do I do? Hm... I don't think ... I don't really plan those scenes. Once I figure out where to start the scene, I start typing and keep typing. Sometimes I know where the scene will end and sometimes I don't. The starting point is the hardest part.

    In my current wip, there is a lot of pain erupting from Tiffany's past. Even though her life is fine at this point, she's safe, her boys are happy, she's considering "letting" God into her life... But two men have entered her life and thrown her all off kilter. They are NICE guys and she doesn't know what to do with them. The men in her life have always used and abused her. She finally got control over her life and now this? So, the issues she stuffed down deep inside her are now erupting.

    One scene she is working out her frustration in the yard. She's wearing gloves, the the mulch is wet enough that it stained her gloves and seeped through to her hands. She's washing her hands and realizes the stain isn't coming off easily so she keeps scrubbing and before she knows it, she's entered into a flashback with her now dead husband.

    I didn't plan this scene, but I got into Tiffany's head, carrying as much of her fear and loss with me as I could and just wrote.

    Tiffany is different from me and definitely different from Beth. So, this is a challenge. I've known God my whole life. Tiffany is late twenties with two sons and just now learning about God. But, I was able to get into her head through that pain/loss/trigger channel thingy and I just wrote and wrote and let the blood flow.

    Tiffany is tough. No doubt about it. She managed to break out of the flashback, but the realization that she had one at all made her sick. She's confused, mad, and determined to not let this lick her. Yet, she's unsure how to deal with it, too. It's been years since she felt this helpless and that scares her.

    Having said that, this is a very tough thing for me. I have the tendency to shut off my emotions when they reach a certain level of intensity. Learning to open that vein and let the blood pour is not easily attained. I think that's why I'm having more trouble writing this story than the first. Beth's story was hard. She had been through a lot. But Tiffany? Oh my!

    Does that make sense? Did I answer the question?

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  67. I'm not very good at emotional writing yet, so this post was great for me, because I realized I am going about it the right way, I just need to keep practicing and practicing to make it better.

    Thanks for the compilation, Janet (and love that cover!!) :)

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  68. Great post, Janet. It's inspired me to take another look for opportunities to "show" rather than tell emotions in the revisions I'm just finishing up. I find sometimes the showing comes easily and other times I have to rip it out of my brain inch by painful inch. I've had two memorable occasions of writing emotion-provoking scenes in that I was in tears (and I don't cry that easily) half way through writing them and every time I reread them afterward. Wish I could figure out what I tapped into those days. LOL

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  69. Julie! Your post about your husband's breath on the back of your neck made me want to snuggle my hubby! Even though he's in the doghouse for forgetting to get TOILET PAPER last night at the store, and now I get to take six kids across the street for TP. :D

    Melissa, did you read the whole series? I was really rooting for Gale, but when I loved the most about Katniss being so ever-lovin' BLIND to those two, is that she's always surprised when they finally tell her. She knwos what they are to her, but she just can't believe they would love her. And that's endearing!

    You're right, I think S.C. totally nailed the difficult childhood/survivor/ providor for the family role and how it equals blocking out emotions!

    P.S. Carol, I think you're right to mail that off. My brother wrote a shrot story (that won a big prize) about postpartum moms and since he's never been married or given birth, he sent it to me to check over.

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  70. Whoah! Excuse the typos! It's an excercise in decoding. :) It's breakfast time so my excuse is the amount of food flying from the high chair onto the rug. My eyes are closed so I don't see it until I have to!

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  71. Excellent post.

    In the last couple of months I read Winter's End and Courting Miss Adelaide. I was impressed with the way Ruthy and Janet handled the abuse issues.

    We have 8 kids, 4 "homegrown" and 4 adopted. We learned a lot about abuse going through foster classes. (Actually we went through all 10 sessions 2 1/2 times, but that's another story.)

    A couple of the classes brought you deep into the child's head as what it does to them to be taken away from their parents. Very emotional.

    In one of my stories, the heroine is abandoned as a child, but all my other ms I stay away from abuse.

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  72. Hi Janet:

    I have a different view which augments the one you so capably presented. It may interest writers.


    There is a saying that if you can act, you can portray a depressed person without being depressed yourself; however, if you cannot act, then you will have to make yourself depressed in order to convincingly play a depressed person.

    We originally learn what our different emotional states mean by associating those states with outer behavior. We never get to feel other people’s feelings. We can’t even be sure that the color others call red is the same color we are seeing when we call a color red. That’s the problem of ‘other minds’.

    How do you know that you are having tears of joy rather than tears of sorry? Is it by the quality of the tears or is it by the behavior that appropriately follows from the emotion? Even our own emotions stand in need of outward criteria.

    I believe there are two ways to write emotional scenes. One: get into the desired emotional state and hope the appropriate behavior follows. Two: carefully describe the outer behavior which defines the given emotional inner state.

    I much prefer the ‘observation backwards’ method. For example, there is a man alone in his bedroom. How could I tell that this man is depressed by simply observing him?

    He gets out of bed slowly. The pillow falls off the bed. He looks at it for several seconds then turns and goes into the bathroom. He looks into the mirror, picks up his razor, then shakes his head and puts the razor back on the sink. He picks up a bottle of pills and the top pops off causing the pills to spill into the sink. He puts the mostly empty bottle down on the sink without taking any more action. He leaves the bathroom. He sits on the edge of the bed, head tilted upwards, watching the overhead fan turning while his body stays perfectly still.


    I think it is best to work backwards and describe the behavior that evidences the emotional state. Indeed, if you make yourself depressed first, then any behavior you create may seem valid to you, the writer, when in reality it may not appear so to the reader. (It’s like the false argument against improbable fiction: ‘I know, but it really did happened that way!’)

    In short: learn to write and save your tears for your beer.

    Vince

    vmres (at) swbell (dot) net

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  73. Excellent post, Janet--thank you so much. Very timely for me personally, as I'm adding more emotion to my WIP right now. ~ When I'm writing, unless I REALLY know my characters, it is very difficult for me to express their emotions in a convincing way. So, I've been really working at learning all I can about my characters' past hurts (writing out the backstory, lots of details about them, etc.). And it's funny, because I find myself thinking about these characters and their experiences so much of the time (even when I'm doing other tasks)--so I have to be careful not to become TOO preoccupied with them, or I'll pour juice instead of cream into my coffee, LOL! ~ YUM! Your chicken soup and pumpkin bread are delicious! Hugs, Patti Jo p.s. I'm so excited you have another book coming out--I've loved ALL your books! :)

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  74. Mary...
    I'm right with you. I refrain what I want to say, but I don't want my characters to be like that.

    Janet...
    I'm weird in that I don't cry over what most people do. A week ago, we went to see Courageous. I had a friend who cried through the whole thing and ran out of tissues. Not me, even though I loved the movie.

    I didn't cry in Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows. But there's a scene in HouseSitter that chokes me up everytime.

    I just hope my weirdness doesn't warp my writing.

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  75. LOL Virginia! That's why I always kept a dog around when we had small children - floor clean-up duty!

    And Vince - good food for thought. I'm all for saving my tears for the beer (especially if it's Warsteiner Dunkel), but I still want my readers to be tearing up during emotional scenes. Working backwards like you described sounds like you're watching a movie in your head, where you catch the emotions from the character's actions. Isn't that the ultimate "show, don't tell"?

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  76. Just lost my comment. ;)

    Great topic! I've found it's much more difficult going dark in the inspirational genre, but only because I feel like I need to tame them down a little.

    I can write dark villains because I've known a few in my life, some so dark they'd never be believalbe in fiction.

    I can write about orphans because I understand, and have felt, rejection.

    I can write the dark side of human-trafficking because it's something God has placed on my heart.

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  77. Hi Erica. Love that you put yourself in your character's situation, feel the emotions of that situation and then express those emotions on the page AS THE CHARACTER WOULD. The only way we can write men, women, different personalities is to express our feelings as they would. Very important point! Thanks!

    Janet

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  78. Wow, Linnette, your comment makes perfect sense!

    You said: I have the tendency to shut off my emotions when they reach a certain level of intensity. Learning to open that vein and let the blood pour is not easily attained.

    So true! Which is why writing scenes with strong emotion is exhausting. For some it might even be scary.

    Janet

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  79. Hello Casey! Practice and study, the combination that brings success. You'll get there! Determination is half the battle.

    I used to tell and tell and tell. I still want to do that. I know why. Telling is way easier.

    Showing means digging deep into emotion inside me, then transferring that emotion to the character, to express it as the characer would. Using details, dialogue, memories, facial expressions, body language, all the actions to raise the emotion in the reader. No wonder this takes practice!

    Janet

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  80. Sandra, Congrats on getting strong emotion on the page! We all wish we knew why some days emotion flows and others it's like pulling teeth without novocain to get strong emotion in the scene. By studying those strong passages, we can at least see what we did that worked.

    Janet

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  81. Congratulations to your brother, Virginia on his award winning short story! I'm sure he couldn't have done as well without your insight.

    Janet

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  82. Virginia, the flying food takes me back a balzillion years. LOL

    Janet

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  83. Hi Connie. I'm sure those classes that take you inside a child's head gave you invaluable insight for writing not only abuse but all the many forms of abandonment.

    Janet

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  84. Connie, forgot to thank you for your kind words about handling the abuse in Courting Miss Adelaide. I loved using a child to lead the hero to self-forgiveness.

    Janet

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  85. VINCE: Robert Liparulo does both acting and feeling. He lives as his characters for as long as is needed to make him feel like he knows them and can write for them. Ted Dekker said that we need to bleed on the page. If we don't feel what our character feels, the reader won't either. We need to shout on the page in order for out reader to hear a whisper. Dekker is a very passionate man. I don't think it would be possible for him to NOT bleed on the page. :D But that's what these men have said. Heard it straight from their lips, so its not hearsay. :D

    I think I see what you're saying. Yes, show actions! So true! That's a must! But I also think that just writing it without feeling it, the scene will come across cold and factual rather than allow the reader to feel with the character. They may see how the character feels and even sympathize with the character, but I don't think they will actually feel with the character. It's more like they will be on the outside looking into the character's life rather than in a sense becoming the character themselves. The words become a bunch of ink blots on the page. Make sense?

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  86. Janet? Isn't "getting emotional" number one criteria for being a writer? OMG, I become an emotional milkshake when I try to work out situations for my characters that I'd rather not address in real life.

    I'm a Mary. I confess. Only she shoots characters...I grind my teeth.

    Thanks for posing the questions to the Seekers, too (and Shirley, of course!!). We need to remember we all - as writers - go through the same emotional turmoil...only using different methods.

    Quite insightful : )

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  87. Janet: It can be scary. So often my mood is reflective of whatever my MC is going through at the moment. My subject matter being dark, that's not necessarily a good thing, but it is necessary. Knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel gets me through, though. :-)

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  88. Good points, Vince. I see those two methods as linked. To know what a depressed man would do, we must either know something about depression and the behavior of the depressed. Our knowledge comes from either research or experience. We can also draw on times when we've been down in the dumps and magnify those behaviors and thoughts. What we describe--actions, dialogue, yes, but as writers we can also get into our character's heads and reveal the way they perceive things--shows him.

    Janet

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  89. Janet, great post and interesting discussion!

    KC, where did you hear Brandilyn speak? In TN? The workshop sounds great. So does her book.

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  90. Patti Jo, a friend feared I'd get so involved in my fantasy world that I'd lose touch with reality. I assured her I had my feet planted on terra firma, but I'll admit that sometimes LaLa Land is a great place to live. At least at the Happily Ever After ending. :-)

    Thank you for your kind words about my books! You made my day!

    Janet

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  91. Jan...you teased us with the comment about your ex-Amish friend. To leave the protected, simple life and join the "English" would take amazing courage and determination. I'm waiting for the rest of the story.

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  92. Connie, you and I must be hard sells for tears. Then something that may be minor to others hits us and wham, we're bawling like newly weaned calves.

    Janet

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  93. Christina, I'm grateful you mentioned that when we write what God has place on our hearts, our passion, emotion will often flow naturally. Because we're emotional about the subject. Thanks!!

    Janet

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  94. Audra, loved that you described yourself as a emotional milkshake when you're trying to avoid the emotion of real life situations. Takes a lot of intensity to get to that emotional place. Yet we have to be analytical enough to know how to show that emotion on the page. There's two sides to the coin of writing emotion. Feeling/ describing.

    Janet

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  95. Linnette, I like to feel that my characters are earning their HEA ending. Nothing worthwhile comes without a price. For the character and for the writer.

    Janet

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  96. Hi Debby. Like you, I wondered about the ex-Amish woman Jan spoke about. Amish stories are big sellers right now. Perhaps Jan will want to model a character after this woman.

    Janet

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  97. Vince wrote: Carefully describe the outer behavior which defines the given emotional inner state.

    Great advice, Vince! You hit the nail on the head! Ca-pow!

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  98. Christina,
    Human traffiking plays on my heart, as well. Not sure where it's headed...a story perhaps.

    But inspirational books can have a dark side so don't think you can't tell the stories that circle through your head and beg to be written. Write the darkness and then let the editor make suggestions if she thinks you've gone too deep.

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  99. Janet~ Great post! I'm an emotional train wreck waiting to happen most days, so tapping in to that is not terribly difficult.

    Melissa sent me that Robert Frost quote when I told her how I cried writing a particular death scene. I love that quote.

    Melissa~ Did I say "heart of stone?" I'm sure I meant it in the nicest possible way. "Just like Bones" I remember. You did sound like her that day. But I love her so that had to be a compliment.

    In reality, folks, Melissa is about the best friend a girl could possibly hope to have. Her supposed "heart of stone" perfectly complements my "train wreck." Some how it works.

    Virginia~ I laughed at your "toes in the water comment" because my H/h have been standing at the clothesline hanging sheets for about two months. Their conversation was an awkward one, so I was sort of avoiding it. It's done, as of last Thursday, though probably my writing of it only makes it more awkward than it was naturally. Hopefully when editing time rolls around I'll be smarter than I am now.

    I love pumpkin bread. And I'd love to win Janet's upcoming book.

    andeemarie95 at gmail dot com

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  100. Andrea, don't you think those sheets should be dry by now? :)

    Debby and Janet - the comment my ex-Amish friend made was "Just because you're Amish doesn't mean you're a Christian." She didn't leave a protected, simple life - she escaped an abusive, drug-dealing husband and had to leave her family and everything she knew behind, while he's still Amish.

    And yes, the comment has a lot to do with the reason why I'm writing Amish stories.

    Maybe someday she'll be a character in a book, but I have a feeling pieces of her will be all through every story.

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  101. Audra, seriously, shoot your characters. Think of what grinding your teeth is doing to the enamal on your teeth. That's gonna cost a fortune. Do you get to shoot people much in sweet contemporaries?

    It's a shame.

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  102. Jan...oh my gosh! What a line. An opening to a suspense. Sounds like a story begging to be written.

    Prayers for your friend. Lots of pain, no doubt.

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  103. Anyone having trouble with the Internet today? I'm on Earthlink and haven't received any new emails since 10:45 AM. Google and blogger both work. Hmmm? Am I the only one with problems?

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  104. Hi Andrea! An emotional train wreck, an emotional milkshake. I'm getting an image of the writer's mind. :-) At least upon occasion.

    Sounds like you and Melissa have different temperaments and writing styles. Yet that seems to make you perfect critique partners.

    I used a clothsline scene in one of my books. The closeness required to do the task, the flapping sheets, the details of setting adds tension. Hope you nail the scene.

    Janet

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  105. Jan, you blew away my perceptions of the Amish, at least with this one family. No wonder your heart goes out to the woman. To all she's suffered and lost.

    Janet

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  106. Mary, if we could just figure out a way to add a killer into our stories, we'd probably all be better adjusted. But not every story mandates murder. Sigh.

    Audra, a mouth guard would perseve your teeth almost as well as killing off characters.

    Janet

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  107. Debby, sorry you're having trouble with e-mail. I've had no trouble with either e-mail or Internet. I'm thankful!

    Janet

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  108. Janet - no /cry/ I forgot cookies. And my friend has a friend in the cast so I think they would have been more likely to actually take them than random Internet stalker person [though he did say he could tell we weren't really stalkers ;)].

    The friend in this case is one I know well enough to ask because it's been long enough since they came through the situation that I felt comfortable asking but also gave her the option of backing out if she didn't think it would be okay.

    Hit 10K today. So I'm only a billion words or so behind. Gonna see if I can make 11-12K today...

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  109. Yes, Janet, I think that's one reason why I feel so strongly about writing Amish stories. Not to ruin people's perceptions of these unique, peculiar (their word) people, but to show that they deal with the same sinful world that the non-Amish do. My friend's situation isn't isolated - but not common, either. They're people, dealing with sin, grace and mercy just like the rest of us.

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  110. WOW! I raelly needed to read that line, Janet.

    "Don't let the conflict be something that could be solved by a conversation."

    I was just working on a scene a few days ago and let it run thataways. Ugh. Now must revise to put ACTUAL conflict in there, or make the scene less pivotal in the whole story arc.

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  111. More to Say:

    Co-authors know their hero inside and out. Both write a passage in which the hero is depressed. One author is depressed herself; the other is not depressed. Both passages are word-for-word the same. What test would you use to determine which author was the depressed one?

    Would you use the quality of the writing? It’s the same. Is it just assumed that the depressed author will write better copy? Is this a warranted assumption? Would a really depressed author be on the top of her game?

    Would an actor who is really angry do a better job reading his angry lines than a competent actor who is not angry but is fully in control of his emotions? Is it like appearing on TV where the actors need makeup to look normal?

    I don’t doubt that some authors need to feel the emotion to write that emotion well but that does not mean that other authors, who are not feeling the emotion, cannot write even better.

    Indeed, a really angry actor may look like a really angry actor and not like the character he is supposed to be playing. The genuine anger could pull the actor out of character.

    I once saw an opera singer in Trieste play Mimi in La Boheme. Mimi is very sick and is dying. The actress was really very sick herself and she did such a good job of coughing and sweating that it ruined the production in my opinion. I know this is a fact because I made it a point to meet the signer after the opera. In a way, do you want your writing to call attention to itself? (Wow, the author who wrote this passage was really depressed.)

    That’s all I want to say. There is another way. Both ways may be superior in the hands of the right writer. Cheers.

    Vince

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  112. I've been blessed with an overactive imagination that used to get me in all sorts of trouble! Which really helps me write, but sometimes it's not enough. Sometimes I have to watch a really depressing movie or listen to a sad song to help me tap into what the character is feeling.
    Great post :) Your book looks amazing!

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  113. I've been blessed with an overactive imagination that used to get me in all sorts of trouble! Which really helps me write, but sometimes it's not enough. Sometimes I have to watch a really depressing movie or listen to a sad song to help me tap into what the character is feeling.
    Great post :) Your book looks amazing!

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  114. Great post, Janet! I just finished reading Jane Eyre and man, did that evoke emotion! I think I ran the full gamut (sp?) of feelings in this book. The author did such an amazing job detailing Jane's experiences but also allowed us to see the perspective of the other characters. I would LOVE to be able to write with that kind of clarity and passion. I'm still learning how to show and not tell. That's so hard for me! Harder than I thought.
    I've had a wonderful life thus far but through reading so much (starting at an early age) and watching lots of movies it's helped me to have a very active imagination...and helps me think of different conflicts/painful circumstances a character might go through. I also feel very empathetic as others experience pain and loss. I hope that I can draw on those things more as I keep trying to write! Thanks! Stacey
    travelingstacey(at)bellsouth(dot)net

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  115. I think what brings me to tears in a book is when the character is experiencing something that either I've been through or a loved one has been through. What makes me laugh is when something happens naturally in the story and doesn't seem forced. Not sure I have conveyed that well enough.

    Smiles & Blessings,
    Cindy W.

    countrybear52[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  116. One of my characters sustained a dire leg injury. I shared this chapter with several people who all commented that it was so believable that it made their legs hurt. And then I realized that I was writing from real experience, as I'd composed it before I had my hip replacement surgery! I knew what the real physical pain felt like and shared that with my character, unconscious that I was sharing my physical pain.

    Thanks for the great post, Janet.

    LyndeeH

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  117. Janet and Debby, I've completed several first drafts since 2006, when I began writing, and have started several others. A few weeks ago I saw something on human-trafficking that left me bawling and I kept thinking about lyrics in a song 'break my heart for what breaks Yours'. I started thinking about my stories and realized each one of them, except one, is centered around human-trafficking. It's definitely a God thing.

    Debby, I can't wait to see if and what the story you come up with. All of mine vary from Medieval to 1860s.

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  118. Carol, having friends in high places is better than cookies. Well, just by an inch or so.

    Congrats on the words on the page!!! Great job!!

    Janet

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  119. Jan, so true. All humanity struggles at some level. Thankful for grace.

    Janet

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  120. Virginia, I'm glad that comment helped. You get a star for reading all the comments! I'm always learning something that will improve my writing--if I remember to do it!

    Janet

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  121. Christina,
    So interesting to see that same issue thread its way through all your stories. Can you turn it into a log line that would hook readers and editors?

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  122. YAY! Internet started working at about 5 PM. Lots of lost emails, but at least, I'm back on line.

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  123. Vince, I don't have to feel that same emotion to write it. In fact I rarely do. I have experienced a range of emotions that I feel help me show someone in a dark time. I didn't mean to imply we need to be ill, physically or mentally to write. In fact, like you, I think that would impede my ability to write. I think writers notice details like artists do. Those details give our writing a real quality, but we don't have to live what we're writing about. Thank goodness! :-)

    Janet

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  124. Hi Faye! Thanks for sharing your process. I think movies are a great teaching tool. I've never watched a movie to get into the character's struggles, feelings, but I say whatever works.

    Thanks for your interest in my book!

    Janet

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  125. Hi Stacey! Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books! I agree on the range of emotion. The highs are always followed by lows, or so I remember. I really want to read that book again. This time with a eye to seeing how Bronte did it. Thought often when I've tried to study other books I love, I get too caught up in the story to notice.

    Janet

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  126. Cindy, you expressed what you like perfectly. I want humor to fit the situation and the characters. I often use secondary characters for humor though they need another reason to be in the story that's related to the plot.

    Janet

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  127. Lyndee, sorry about your hip pain, but glad you were able to put the experience to good use. Hope you're feeling better now!

    Janet

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  128. Glad you're back online, Debby! Wouldn't want you to be crawling the walls like I would be. LOL

    Janet

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  129. Christina, you're called to a purpose. I wish you all the best with your stories. More people need to be aware of human trafficking.

    Janet

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  130. Janet, great post. The scenes that really bring tears to my eyes are the ones when the hero/heroine have been away from God, and it's the moment when they finally surrender to the still, small voice that's been wooing them back. God's love for us is definitely tear worthy. :)

    I would love to read your new book.
    Please enter me. Have a great week.

    Angi
    diamondsixgunsofangioakley(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  131. Angi, I agree. Those are special and very emotional scenes for me as a writer.

    Janet

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  132. Hi Pam! Looks like you've had a long day.

    Night all! Thanks for chatting in Seekerville!

    Hugs, Janet

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  133. Janet,
    The hip is amazing now, and it's sorta like childbirth for me as now I can hardly recall the pain I had with either of those experiences! I just thought it was fascinating that I was writing about it unconsciously.

    I want to Praise God in this public forum tonight. I placed in the Finally a Bride contest.

    I can't tell you how grateful I am, but guess that many of you know exactly how I feel.

    LyndeeH

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  134. YAY, Lyndee!

    Congrats on your Finally A Bride final!!! Whoo-hoo! Great contest...plus, as you know, you have to have finaled in other contests to enter.

    And the winner gets a lovely cake server.

    Fingers crossed! :)

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  135. Thanks Debby! Dancing in the street here. Well, actually around my desk, lol.

    Blessings,
    LyndeeH

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  136. I enjoyed this blog post. I had never really thought about this aspect of a writer. Definitely an eye opener!! I would love to win this book!
    tscmshupe [at] pemtel [dot] net

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  137. YAY, LyndeeH!!!

    I think that's such an awesome contest! I really wanted to enter but just couldn't get my ms that had finaled ready in time. Isn't that how Ruthy got Melissa Endlich's attention?? I hope the final judge reads your ms and SEES your talent!

    I love good news. :)

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  138. Thanks Virginia and Jan. Appreciate your kind words. It is a great contest. Our family really needed some good news. And God really provided it today. :)

    LyndeeH

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  139. Great post, Janet! I never really thought about it from a writer's point of view but somewhere you have to come up with "the dark side" if you have it in one of your books! If you haven't experienced it personally, you have to get that emotion from somewhere. Thanks for your thoughts - now I will think about it the next time I read a book and that type of thing is in the book!
    Valri

    westernaz@msn.com

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  140. Virginia, no, I just read the first one, and I'm rather glad to hear you say you liked her character for those qualities, because that's the kind of characters I write. :)

    Andrea, the phrase "heart of stone" pertaining to me has an etymological (is that a word?) date of 1998. I was also going to pin the phrase "social retard" on you, but then I realized, I had coined that one and you just simply agreed. :)

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  141. Wahoo Lyndee!!!! Congratulations on the Finally A Bride final!!! That's a great contest! Wishing you and your writing all the best!

    Janet

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  142. Thanks for your interest in my book, Sally!

    Janet

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  143. Thanks Valri! Writing novels is fun, but also very hard work. Not all stories require us to go to the dark side. But even when we do, I look for ways to add a touch of humor to balance the story.

    Janet

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  144. Over the past few years God has been teaching me about being real about my messy life. All the emotions and frustrations and... well, everything.

    Through that process, my writing has gotten better. I just keep thinking, "My character is a mess. How can they be real about their mess?"

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  145. Thank you for your post it has been a great help and encouragement. I find all of your blogs so much help.
    Thanks again.

    Glenda Parker
    http://glendaparkerfictionwriter.blogspot.com

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