Attending to the Body - Linda Clare

Attending to the Body
Linda Clare

Writing is all about emotion.

You want to help reader to live to be the same person as character.
Show Not Tell comes into play here.

Make scenes where you need reader to feel at the deepest level – internal or external.
Stories are about people in trouble.

If readers are drawn to characters there are ways to bring them in further.
Explaining: No-no; RUE – resist urge to explain
Use Showing not Telling; lop off telling on rewrite

It’s just about emotion
Describe a feeling in an emotional turning point in terms of body emotion
Example: Jolt in the middle of the body
That’s the kind of thing you can feel when writing your novel

Donald Maass (famous agent with over 100 bestselling customers) -> Give reader a punch in the guts – reader can’t escape you

Having the stakes high enough to get emotions also high enough where they can be played upon

Is there anything going on besides what you’re seeing in your scene?

What about other senses?
- They will add layers and deepen emotional reactions
CSD –concrete sensory details – have to use sparingly; save up to use
For prime moments of high emotions

Test: Do we really feel what character would be experiencing?

All characters have feelings even if they don’t show them. Can’t have cardboard
Characters.

Can save emotional deep feelings to heighten emotional spots.

Need to balance action and emotion.

Whenever we have one character physically touching another STOP:
- Allow emotion to have effect – a heightening of emotion

When you have 2 characters figure out other ways to bring out emotions

Emotional light created for reader can satisfy reader when plot resolved

Need to give reader enough time to feel emotion

Don’t want to jump around a POV character as to whose story it is in first part of novel
- When using multiple viewpoint stick to one character at first

Ask “what makes human human”?

Keeping tension on is keeping emotion as raw as possible.

In fiction-> authors have to become their characters; get out in real world and do
Research if necessary