Conveying emotion...

Angela Hunt posted this on one of the writer's loops I am a part of...

One of Sol Stein's chief admonitions to novelists is that a novel should provide an EMOTIONAL experience. We read nonfiction to learn; we read novels for that vicarious emotional experience.This is a challenge for novelists who love to teach. We have to overcome our natural reluctance to give the facts and concentrate HARD on providing the emotions.

One of the things the Don taught me was to separate out my scenes (or cards, an Excel chart, or whatever), and then pinpoint the emotional import of each scene. If I'm drawing a blank, so is the reader, so I have to find some way to up the emotional ante.

Angie

This is GREAT advice!


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