Has anyone ever experienced actual emotion while bringing a scene or character to life?
For me, engaging the emotion of the reader is part of what makes for the best type of story. Another is having the reader continue to think about a story long after they've finished reading. I think both have to be present in the process of writing the story to translate well to the reader.
I haven't quite figured out how to do both consistently, but it is a really great feeling when I hit on a part of this while writing. I feel it shows that my writing has grown well beyond what it was.
And once a story becomes that engaging, it is so easy to keep writing.
An better yet, in my last novel I had the ultimate experience, one of my critiquers said that I brought him to tears. Now that was cool.
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one of my critiquers said that I brought him to tears
[This message has been edited by Owasm (edited December 08, 2009).]
So a definite Yup!
where Bandor had run out of ammo for his two chain guns.
He had to decide whether to carry the useless weapons with him over the broken surface of an abandoned asteroid,
or leave them where he was, to rust away, unused.
It was so sad.....
I cried during the entire scene....
<g>
I often had such moments. For me writing is always an intellectual and emotional exercise.
One other thing...if my characters are tired and start yawning, I usually yawn too.
But then again I cry while watching football highlights, and I don't even like football.
True story.
I think when I cry while I write it is a sign that the reader (probably) will feel about a third of the emotion I'm feeling. It will bring a few with a high water table to tears, but most people will just end up connecting to the characters a little stronger when the scene is finished.
I think when I write about love it is the same way. I really have to love my characters, and then the reader will care a little what happens to them.
One word of warning. Try not to get over dramatic, or try to force tears. It reads false. At least in my own writing.
~Sheena
It shows that you care about what you're doing, and you can't ask the reader to care unless you do.
When writing my lone novel I had a character, a little girl, that was really being treated horribly by my other main character. I was overjoyed that I hit (what I thought) were all of the right emotional notes for a few scenes: his resentment and revultion towards her, her fearfullness and sense of loss of place & person. Moments after I finished writing that scene, the realization of what I was doing to this little girl really hit me hard, and I was quite shaken up by it. It didn't get better as the book went on. In reality, it got worse as I subjected her to worse things and became better at it.
Now, before I'm accused of writing child-abusive fiction, the abuse I'm talking about is almost strictly verbal, it makes sense in terms of story, and is resolved is a generally satisfactory way for all involved. It was just a little disturbing to realize what I was doing to a character I loved.
[This message has been edited by skadder (edited December 08, 2009).]
But, seriously, in both Pocket Change and Purpose I had those spots. They were both personal stories--the children in both represent my own.
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited December 08, 2009).]
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It was just a little disturbing to realize what I was doing to a character I loved.
Isn't that what us writers are supposed to do? Create characters we absolutely love and then torture the living crap out of them?
[This message has been edited by Rhaythe (edited December 08, 2009).]
While writing, I cry, laugh, groan, and otherwise react to each scene. I'll hold silent, unwritten conversations with my characters that are less about story development and more about my wanting to spend time with them. I can't imagine how anyone could work for weeks, months, or years on a project without experiencing actual emotion from it.
When my story made my mother-in-law cry, I knew I was getting somewhere with this writing thing. Funny thing is, it didn't feel that strong to ME. I had made up a situation, but she had lived through it (sort of). Her personal experience made it more powerful for her.