This week's #WednesdayWritingTips are all about EMOTION. I've bitten off way more than I can chew here. This is so crucially important. It's so fundamental. It needs an entire @WritingMagazine article series to unfold!! But this will have to do in the meantime...

Right. Deep breath.
Emotion.
What and how and why we 'feel' is probably the deepest, most beautiful, most incredible, most awe-inspiring thing about being human. It underpins our existence. It brings depth and meaning. Without it... what are we?
#WednesdayWritingTips

When we write & follow and explore our characters, we are usually following and exploring their emotional journey. Why? What's the point? To help us understand our own emotions better. Which, in turn, helps us understand the world better & our place in it.
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To REALLY explore our characters' emotional journeys, we need to FEEL along with them - the depth of longing, of hate, of love, relief, joy, sadness... We need to laugh with them. We need to cry with them. And we need to help our readers to do the same.
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Facilitating the young reader's emotional connection to our characters is crucial. We need to make it easy for them to connect with our characters. This is where SHOWING not TELLING really helps. Don't tell me someone is scared. Show me that adrenalin rush.
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These is a feeling we have all felt. That emotional bridge to the character is BUILT, that connection to the character is MADE. It's a real feeling. We understand it. We are empathising.
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By creating an emotional connection to the character, we begin to care about them. When we care about the character, we want to follow their journey. And so we finish the book. Emotion - and our connection to it - is essential.
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Look at the words you use when you describe your character's emotional responses. Help your reader feel them. Are you choosing the most effective words or phrases? Are you describing something familiar, but describing it in a fresh and interesting way?
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This subject is just too huge to cover any more in this thread right now. But I'll do some more #WednesdayWritingTips about it soon. Just one parting gift...

Emotion is the key to your character.
It is also the key to your reader.

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