Writers Helping Writers^®

Emotion

Story Midpoint & Mirror Moment: Using Heroes’ Emotions To Transform Them

June 11, 2014

Story Midpoint & Mirror Moment: Using Heroes’ Emotions To Transform Them

June 11, 2014

I recently read a Huff Post psychology piece on Turning Negative Emotions Into Your Greatest Advantage and immediately saw how this could also apply to our characters. Feel free to…

Writing Emotion: Does Your Hero Shrug, Smile & Frown Too Much?

March 8, 2014

Writing Emotion: Does Your Hero Shrug, Smile & Frown Too Much?

March 8, 2014

Crutch gestures can sometimes get in the way of good writing. They come in all shapes and sizes–maybe an eye roll, a clenched stomach, curled fists or shrugs–cues we writers…

Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes

February 27, 2014

Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes

February 27, 2014

Characters are the heart of a novel, and within that heart is the Hero’s Inner Journey. The protagonist’s path is much like yours or mine–one that will (hopefully) bring him…

Writing Extreme Emotion Without The Melodrama

February 11, 2014

Writing Extreme Emotion Without The Melodrama

February 11, 2014

Finding the right balance of emotion can be difficult; too little and the reader will feel no empathy for the characters, but too much, and the scene becomes melodramatic. Melodrama…

How a Character’s Unexpected Emotions Will Draw Readers In

May 15, 2013

How a Character’s Unexpected Emotions Will Draw Readers In

May 15, 2013

When the topic of Emotional Writing came up at a Donald Maass Workshop, he encouraged us to move past ‘expected’ character emotions and try for something deeper, more primal. Something…

Hidden Emotion: Using The “Just Act Normal” Technique

May 8, 2013

Hidden Emotion: Using The “Just Act Normal” Technique

May 8, 2013

As humans, we value honesty, but in truth, to protect ourselves from harm, we often turn to deception, especially where emotions are concerned. We mislead others to think we’re feeling…

Surprising Emotions: How Will Your Character React?

October 19, 2012

Surprising Emotions: How Will Your Character React?

October 19, 2012

By David McFarland Surprising Emotions When I was thirteen, I met my grandfather for the first time, and he told me about his life in the Mafia. “I ran whorehouses…

The Plot Whisperer: Benefits of Plotting in Scenes

August 23, 2012

The Plot Whisperer: Benefits of Plotting in Scenes

August 23, 2012

Martha Alderson (aka The PLOT WHISPERER) is here to share the benefits of plotting in scenes, Some writers write by the seat of their pants. Others prefer to pre-plot first,…

Frustration: Your Novel’s Best Friend

September 12, 2011

Frustration: Your Novel’s Best Friend

September 12, 2011

You’re thinking that title must be a typo, aren’t you? It isn’t, I promise. 🙂 Frustration is awesome. Sure, as writers, we want NOTHING to do with this emotion. Between…

Description 911: Over Expressed Emotions

February 28, 2011

Description 911: Over Expressed Emotions

February 28, 2011

Because this blog is all about flexing our descriptive skills, I wanted to touch on something I see from time to time when I critique: too much emotional showing. Emotions…