Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m
focusing on two themes: Emotions and
grammar,
depending on which
letter we’re on each day.
I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.
Today’s an emotion day!
I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.
Today’s an emotion day!
__________
G is for grief: keen mental suffering or distress over
affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; painful regret.
Grief is a powerful emotion, and, when done well, is
palpable for the reader. I used it
extensively in my novel, The
Mistaken. It was the perfect vehicle
for moving my plot forward:
The key to sharing the character’s grief is making the
reader care about him first. That
requires time, building a relationship, creating depth and layers, making him
happy, learning what and whom he
cares about most. Then when that’s all
taken away—bam!—we actually feel his
pain.
At this point, all he wants is to be left alone, but that
won’t work. You have to stir the pot,
have another character confront him with his grief, pulling it out for all to
see and feel. But even then, you have to
make his suffering worse, hit him while he’s down, not allow him the time or
space to heal. It’s a low blow, but
tragedy is unpredictable and often comes in multiples, and it’s in these
multiple ways we see, feel, and experience the near-destruction of our
character.
At his point, give him a way to deal with his pain, but not
necessarily in a good way. People often
make poor choices when they’re at their lowest, so this is the perfect
opportunity to add conflict and tension.
While he tries to deal with all the turmoil of his grief and
poor choices, he is bound to meet new people, folks with whom he can share his
pain, who can offer a new perspective, shake things up, set him on a better
path, and show him he can live again. His life is different now, changed in ways he
never wanted, but will make him feel glad that he’s alive.
22 comments:
Good thing the heavy grief doesn't hit until near the end of the book, because it takes about that long to care about my main character.
He's easier to like in the second book!
That's a great point that you have to make us like the character so we'll relate to the character's grief.
You make very valid points. I won't care about his grief if I don't care about him as a character.
Dani @ Entertaining Interests
#warriorminion
So very true! you must have that connection! my word today is also "grief"-- but I'm sharing the poem written by Matthew Dickman!
You made such a great point... for a reader to care about a person's grief, they have to care about the person. I think we all would feel sorry for someone who suffered loss, but our heart breaks for people we care about who suffer loss.
Great post!
G = Gratifying vs Grating Grammar
Wonderful post. Yeah, make them hurt, make them bleed, and then really get them.
The main problem with grief in writing is that it can go on beyond the reader's ability to bear.
Grief is an emotion we can all relate to and one that I think helps us connect easily to a character. Great post.
Visiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge. Enjoy the 2nd week.
Grief is a complex emotion and everyone does it differently
For some reason, I think I'd have a hard time writing grief. Maybe something I'd have to practice at.
Grief is an emotion I use very sparingly in my writing. I guess I don't like thinking about how it feels.
Stirring the pot is what it's all about.
This is some great advice about something that isn't easy to write. You have to build up the picture before their loss so the reader feels more keenly what is taken away.
I think you can intellectually appreciate grief, but to feel it you have to relate in some way to the character experiencing the loss. Great post.
mood
Moody Writing
Grief is a pretty strong emotion and I'm sure you use it well.
This lesson on grief makes me sad.
Nancy, you used this powerful emotion masterfully in your book. It literally seemed there was no bottom Tyler's grief or his reaction to it. And everything spiraled from that one raging emotion.
This is a writing topic you know well.
Chuck at Apocalypse Now
True! Grief can be very powerful.
So evil you are to your characters!
Heather
I agree that you need to build up your characters before you can grieve with or for them. The best stories evoke emotions.
Julie
Grief is one of those truly powerful emotions, and certainly a challenge to write well.
It's amazing to say this, but grief is one of the few things I actually understand and feel comfortable conveying in my novels. It's also been therapeutic writing about it.
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