Emotion in Fiction

[randomfreshink]

So far, Karl Iglesias' Writing for Emotional Impact has been an interesting read, with good stuff, and great quotes--but I'm still looking for more of an 'ah ha' moment here.  Just why does some writing have emotional impact?  How do you get it in there?

I've a suspicion that it just shows up--that you learn technique, then forget technique, and

Comments

[sg_fignewton]

I think a lot of the impact comes from "show, don't tell" - when we're in the character's head, instead of being told what the character feels.

But some of it is just a matter of resonating with the reader (or, as you say, the writer). Emotion or reaction can hit hard, sometimes. It might have more to do with a connection to what you're reading than the actual writer's craft. Which may not be entirely fair. :)

[randomfreshink]

I do think there's more in there about the connection -- the real emotion. A lot of the craft has to do with staying out of the way of the emotion in the scene.

But the craft also comes in for plotting -- that's where writing almost seems schizophrenic. On the one hand you're writing from what you feel, very right brain, but on the other you're trying to hit certain plot points, very left brain. So, to me, it's about how do you better connect these two.

[theemdash]

And if it hits you where you live, it'll hit someone else there, too.

If what you're writing doesn't hit you where you live, why are you writing it?

I really mean that.

Often I find that if I'm not passionate about the story, I'm not telling the right story. And maybe the characters are fine, but the plot's wrong, or the plot's right, but the characters won't have the same impact as these other characters.

I don't know that there is a "cheat" other than feeling the emotion.

[randomfreshink]

By cheat, I mean that in the sense of how a magician can 'cheat' a move -- and the better you are at this, the better this can come off.

For example, I think action is always an effective cheat--when in doubt with a story, have something bad happen. Really bad. This lets you crank up interest. (Done badly, this comes off as melodrama -- done well, and it'll grab the reader by the throat.)

I call action a cheat because it means the writer doens't have to dive deep into a character's feelings. And maybe this is why guys prefer action movies.

And, yes, it's that interaction between plot (the need to take the story in a set direction) vs. the need to get deeper into the emotion of the story. That's what I'm looking for in this -- how to better balance those. Or even how to rely more on the emotion to carry the story, and worry about plot later.

[sg_betty]

The link didn't work for me, sadly. I think I should definately read this!
Edit: I found it on Adlibris:
http://www.alibris.com
Now I just have to sort out my credit card issues. Someone tried to use my credit card online creating problems...

[randomfreshink]

Link is now fixed....

[randomfreshink]

It's a book worth reading -- I really like the quotes and examples, and I'll post more on it as I get through it. I'm about a third of the way in, and it does still feel like covering the basics, but you kind of have to do that when you have no idea what your reader might know or not know.

[sg_betty]

I probably need some of those basics, as long as they are not so basic as to assume that I'm only marginally literate. The basic stuff in software text books drives me crazy. 'This is how you open a window...'

[randomfreshink]

Totally agree on the 'you have to care yourself' -- if I find a scene boring, I know someone else will. And it's usually because I'm in the wrong person's head, or I don't really know what the conflict is about in that scene.

The interesting thing that Iglesias touches on--not in his words, but in the examples provided--is the need to continually reinforce and reinvest the reader in the main characters. It's not a one-time thing, but an over-and-over again, little reveals, so that the peril matters.

As in we all care about when a train hits a bus--it's shocking and sad--but when you're best friend from childhood is on the bus, the caring goes way higher.

I also agree about keeping the writing clean--I don't tend to use adverbs, but I hate giving up my adjectives.

[randomfreshink]

Paian is brilliant -- and I'll be posting more on this book. It's actually quite intersting, and I'm hoping as I get deeper to get to those 'ah ha' moments with it.