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.
Today’s an emotion day!
__________
Y is for Yearning: a deep longing, especially when accompanied by
tenderness or sadness
I think yearning is likely at the core of every plot ever
imagined. It’s what drives the
characters, their yearning for whatever it is they want or need. It’s at the heart of every human being. We each have our own dreams, our own desires,
and we yearn for them to come true, to be made whole, to be fully
realized.
The key to making your reader accept your character’s
yearning is to not only have them sympathize
with his underlying belief system, but fully empathize, as well. That which makes us each unique also forms our
personal mythos, and those internal principles define not only how we perceive
the world, but how we react to it and the choices we make.
So the writer must indoctrinate the reader to a certain
extent, temporarily instilling the character’s ideology into the mind of
reader. For that to happen, the yearning, his choice, his desires, must make
sense, or at least the author has to make it seem like it makes sense.
I believe a strong and very close POV helps with this
difficult task. It’s why I write in
first person and not third. I deal with
some pretty horrific human flaws and frailties in my novels. Hard for most people to comprehend and
commiserate with. But if I can get the
reader to live in the protagonist’s head, she’s more likely to understand where
he’s coming from, to accept that’s what’s best, to hope and pray he achieves
it, even yearn for it herself.
17 comments:
I use 1st person, too. <3
I think this is one of the most difficult things about writing. I write mostly in 3rd, but during my first round of edits, I change these more difficult parts into 1st and then switch them back into 3rd to make sure I get as close to the character as possible.
I think we all have a natural inclination to want to understand things. A good thing to tap into for writers.
mood
Write in a way that makes my readers feel an attachment to my character. You're the second person I've read who chose this topic.
And that's why I write in third person - I do not want to be in Byron's head that much.
I write in 3rd person limited but think you can still get there with that.
Great post. I have two WIPs on the go and one is written from multiple POV in third-person, and the other is from one character's POV in first.
I enjoy the differences brought through the different viewpoints. The one in first-person just edges it for me. More personal and a better flow to the narrative.
Happy Z'ing tomorrow :)
I think first person is one of the best views for conveying yearning and/or desire. Better 'shown' and not 'told'.
I choose the POV based on how I want to story to unfold. Sometimes I have to experiment with different ones to see how the voice comes through.
I write in multiple POVs so I can let the reader inside more than one character. It's a little harder to do in 3rd but I like doing it that way.
I've written in 1st and 3rd, but prefer 3rd because it widens the scope of what I can write.
I'm experimenting with first person POV in a story I'm just starting. These are some good points to ponder when writing.
"How do you make your readers understand your characters’ yearnings?"
I tell 'em!
In all seriousness, I think that well-written third or omni can be equally effective in communicating a character's wants and desires and yearning.
Very hard.
Just about everything you mention is hard. Sheesh, why do we do this?
:)
Heather
Excellent post. I try to accomplish this with deep POV
Nancy, what kismet! That is the same word I chose for Y. And it was with great sadness I left the idyllic island of Roatan and returned to big city life.
It must also be kismet that I used to have the same blog template you are using before I changed to the current one. Or at least it was damn near identical!
One more letter to go!! I have really enjoyed your series and still have a few posts to catch up on.
I have done the same thing as H Drecker too! I find that helps me get deeper inside their head and find their voice.
One more day! You are almost there! Hurray for A to Z!
Angela
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