Emotions in Our Writing

Last Saturday I led a writing retreat, and we talked a lot about emotions. 

Not our emotions, but the emotions of our characters. And our readers.

Readers want to feel what our character feels. They want to feel terrible when our character loses his job. They want to feel sad when our character's father dies. They want to feel happy when our character kicks the winning goal.

How to put those feelings into our stories? By showing our characters' emotions--honestly and truthfully--on the page. 

Have you ever been in a situation where you've had cold feet? Where you really wanted or needed to do something, but you lost your nerve? 

What kind of emotions did you feel? Fear, guilt, shame, relief? 

Write a description of a character who gets cold feet. Maybe he can't make that leap with bungee-jumping. Maybe he backs out of a robbery. Maybe he panics in the game with three seconds left on the clock. Good or bad, we all have emotions when we lose our nerve. 

Create a situation for your character that requires nerve. What are his emotions when he gets cold feet? Let your character feel those emotions, and your readers will, too. 

Writing with Details

Following up on description (our topic last week), I've been thinking about details. 

Let's say a cat walks in and out of our story. Writing "the cat" may be just fine. 

But we may want the reader to "see" our cat. We can do that by adding details to make the cat pounce off the page. (Pun intended!)

Of course details aren't limited to cats. What about that bed in your story? Is it queen-size or a bunk bed (and does your character sleep on the top or the bottom)? Is the tree outside the window a poplar or a birch? Are the shoes your character grabs flip-flops, high heels, or hiking boots? 

Pick an object in a story you're currently working on. Add just enough details to make us "see" what your character sees.

Back to cats. Here are a few details for "Miss Fluffy" above: 

Miss Fluffy stared intently at the mouse. Black patches like tar covered her face and body. Her ears bent forward, ready for the tiniest squeak. 

We don't need to go overboard with details: a little goes a long way. Try adding a few details--it's like sprinkling salt or pepper onto your story. 

Description: Chocolate Shampoo?

Do you like chocolate? I love it.

What do we do with chocolate? We eat it or drink it, right? 

But what if we invented…Chocolate Shampoo? Yes, Chocolate Shampoo!

We can have fun with description by creating an ad for this totally new product.

New! Choco-Choc Shampoo! 

Is your hair tired and drab? Does it feel like dry straw?

Try Choco-Choc! Our new product puts the zing of chocolate into your hair. 

Your hair will feel silky, smooth, and best of all--chocolately. It will smell divine, like sugary sweet cocoa. 

Have a good hair day every day. Try Choco-Choc today!  

Now it's your turn. Don't forget to give your Chocolate Shampoo a cool name. And remember, don't drink your shampoo. 

Back to School…With a List Poem

Welcome back to school! I hope you get to do lots of writing.

To celebrate the new school year, let's write a List Poem.

What's a List Poem? 

It's just like it sounds. We make a list!

Think about your first day of school this year. What did you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell? What really stood out? 

First Day

new markers that squeak on the board
my desk with the wobbly seat
the girl with purple braces
the new teacher who smiles a lot
books that smell like the library
morning recess
the airplane that buzzes past the window
mac n cheese at lunch
afternoon recess

the markers stop squeaking
my desk settles down
i smile at the purple braces 
not bad today

Summer Writing Prompt #11

We'll end our summer prompts with a mystery.

Summer Writing Prompt #11

Write about a treasure map and a stolen key.