The Notion of Emotion

Spending hours upon hours churning out words in an attempt to crank out 50,000 by the end of the month is sure to leave a noticeable dent in quality had you spent more time shaping your narrative.

One problem that many new writers will run into is a lack of emotional connection in their writing. You may start off wonderfully, but 15,000 words in your work may very well turn into a laundry list of events as you struggle or rush to get towards a certain point in the action.

You want to avoid writing like this: “This happened. And then this happened. Oh! And then this happened.”

And you want to do something a little more like this: “This happened and it is an event that is worth the paper because _____________.”

An easy way to really bring forth the emotion and connect with your readers is to think about your memories. Think about a moment or event in your childhood that had a big impact on you, positive or negative. Think about the details that come to mind right away. You don’t remember a laundy list of events, you remember feelings, nuances, emotions, looks of pain or anger or pure joy upon a family member’s face.

Now that you are thinking about the details to include, think about the events themselves that you remember. When looking back you don’t think about what you had for a snack 15 years ago, you think about a particularly emotional argument or a surprising gesture of kindness. You remember the things that change you or help you grow as a person, developmental moments in your life. These are the things that your readers want to hear about your characters.

What pitfalls have you run into because of the pace of NaNoWriMo? What do you do to avoid them? Share your opinions and experiences in the comments.