Writers in the Storm

by Angela Ackerman

What do the most successful, memorable novels out there have in common? Emotional impact. The reader becomes so connected to the story, characters, and world they feel something profound as they read. 

This is no surprise because emotions are central to the human experience. Whether it’s joy, hope, fear, or something else, we’ve felt it. Emotions color our world, shape our values, inform our decisions, and help us navigate life. So, when reading a story awakens something within us, it’s because we see the characters as people who yearn, hurt, and struggle just as we do. We feel connected to them and care about their journey. 

Stories with high emotional impact bring readers back for more, so we want to do all we can to make them feel involved and invested. These strategies will help you psychologically hook your reader’s emotions.  

Strategy #1: Show, Don’t Tell

This is the Big Daddy of writing advice, which is why it is so often talked about: showing provides an experience, telling provides information. There’s a place for both, but especially when description touches emotions, we want readers to feel part of the moment. So, when the character is upset, worried, hopeful, or euphoric, what does this look like? How do they express it through body language, dialogue, vocal cues, thoughts, internal sensations, and actions? 

Showing emotions using the above indicators will help readers imagine what the character feels far better than writing, Billy was sad. Realistic displays of emotion also trigger the reader’s memories of a time they felt the same thing, causing them to empathize with the character and what they’re going through. 

Show, don’t tell isn’t only about emotions, though. In fact, every time we want to share something about a character, place, or event, we should think about what that detail does for the story. How will it further the plot, round out worldbuilding, reveal characterization, reinforce emotion, or involve readers? This is what good showing does, so if the detail doesn’t match any of these, chances are it can be omitted or shared as a bit of telling so we can move on to something more important.  

Strategy #2: POV Filtering & Internal Observations

Another important way we generate emotional impact is to use POV filtering. At any moment in the story, your POV character is feeling certain emotions, is focused on specific goals, and they’ll have personal reasons for their motivations. This means what they notice about their environment, what they say (or hold back) in conversations, and the things they zero in on or dismiss all should come through a filter of emotion and intent.

A fearful character will carefully examine evening shadows around a doorway or near a dumpster whereas a character on a fun night out with her friends will not. A character concerned about loyalty may ask leading questions as a test, but a trusting character will take everything at face value.

POV filtering/deep POV also allows you to share private internal observations, so readers become insiders to what the character truly thinks and feels. 

Strategy #3: Sensory Detail

In the real world, we notice the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures around us. This sensory information helps shape how we feel and allows us to be more immersed and present. In the story, sensory description does the same thing, making readers feel part of the moment and helping to influence what they feel as they read. How?

Well, consider a character standing at the edge of a farmer’s field in the dark, waiting to meet a friend who called and begged for her help. It’s late, cold, and her friend hasn’t showed. Our character is worried, trying to puzzle out what could be wrong, and confused about why she was told to come here of all places. Then there’s a crack of thunder, and rain begins to pelt down.

Describing those cold, painful drops hitting our character’s skin will not just convey discomfort to readers, it increases the sense of urgency and foreboding that something bad has happened. 

Strategy #4: Authentic, Relatable Characters

If we want readers to become emotionally invested, we need to give them someone to care about. Our primary characters should be so well-developed they feel like they’ve walked out of the real world. This can only happen if we take the time to think about who they are, and the needs, motivations, flaws, and fears that make them human.

And speaking of human, that means we want to build characters who make mistakes, screw up, and have regrets. Characters who are not perfect are ones a reader will relate to and get behind. (If you need help building a character top to bottom, give this tool Becca and I designed a try.) 

Strategy #5: Vulnerability

In addition to creating a lifelike character, we need to make sure readers see something that is commonly masked: inner vulnerability. Like real people, certain things will make the character feel insecure, exposed, and weak. Often these things are tied to painful experiences, and their instinct will be to hide their vulnerability, wear emotional armor, and avoid anything (or anyone) that triggers those internal feelings of hurt. (It’s what we all tend to do, after all.) 

But just because our characters have a mask on doesn’t mean these insecurities don’t exist, so find moments where you can show a character’s vulnerability through what they avoid, how they overreact, and if it is a POV character, their innermost thoughts and reflections. Vulnerability is a emotional point of common ground that readers and characters share. 

Strategy #6: Language Choice and Literary Devices

This one isn’t a surprise, but one of the best ways to create emotional impact is with language! Choose specific language that is loaded with meaning and emotion. Sure, we can say a character walked across the room, but did they saunter, limp, weave, or stride? Verbs can hint at how a character is feeling in the moment, their sense of purpose, what’s important to them, who they are deep down, and more.

Figurative language and literary devices like metaphors, similes, alliteration, personification, etc. also can add power, meaning, and help crystalize an image in the reader’s mind so they feel a certain way. 

Strategy #7: Tension, Conflict, and Stakes

When readers care about a character, they won’t want bad things to happen to them. So of course, what will we do? Make sure there’s plenty of obstacles, roadblocks, and adversaries (conflict) on the path to the character’s goal, put something meaningful on the line (personal stakes), and introduce uncertainty over the outcome (tension). This trifecta ensures readers get an emotional ride. 

Strategy #8: Common Ground

I’ve hinted at this throughout, but it generates emotional impact so greatly that it bears repeating—your story should have loads of common ground. It doesn’t matter if the story takes place in a fantastical world, or your character is an assassin fighting zombies, readers should see themselves in the story.

Readers (hopefully) are not assassins nor have experience with zombies, but they do know the toil of a difficult workday, the self-critic that emerges every time a mistake is made, and how empowering it is to have others look up to you. By including everyday human experiences like these, we create a bridge of common ground. Readers feel seen, known, and validated. Emotional impact for the win! 

What’s your favorite strategy for creating emotional impact?  Feel free to share it in the comments!

About Angela

Angela Ackerman is a story coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, and its many sequels. Available in nine languages, her guides are sourced by US universities, recommended by agents and editors, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, and psychologists around the world. To date, this book collection has sold over a million copies. 

Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop for Writers®, a portal to game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Image Credits

Top image by Mikko Koivuneva from Pixabay, edited by Lynette M. Burrows

Second photo by Richárd Ecsedi on Unsplash

Third image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

by Miffie Seideman

If you’ve been penning stories for any length of time, you’ve already been exposed to countless writing tips. One such tip is “Write what you know.” This well-meaning phrase is not only often misunderstood, but also creates angst and even creative blocks among writers. 

What does “Write what you know” mean? 

“Write what you know” has often been strictly interpreted as a literal directive to develop stories based only on a writer’s personal life. In other words, only write what you have personally lived and experienced. 

Oh, so wrong!

On one hand, this interpretation is very wrong. If we followed that advice, our writing repertoire would be drastically limited (not to mention boring and repetitive). It would mean I’d mostly be writing about training for triathlons or creating primers on properly dosing medication in critically ill patients. And as passionate as I am about these subjects, even I’d be bored writing yet another article on proper swim stroke technique or drug calculations. 

And…so right! 

On the other hand, “Write what you know” is perfectly correct. 

Wait! How can that be? 

Well, it boils down to definition. Importantly, it’s the meaning of the word “know” that needs to be better understood.

What does “know” really mean? 

If you ask someone what they know, after some hesitation, you’ll likely get just a list of basic talents related to work, life, or school. 

I’m a nurse. I know how to bandage wounds, take a temperature, give my patient medications…

Ask them to dig a little deeper and they might begin to uncover a wider array of knowledge. For example, nurses know the suffering of their patients and how to help ease their pain. They know the joy of healing, the grief of loss, etc. 

Encourage them to explore even deeper and the list may grow to include more intimate lessons, such as personal loss, loneliness, fears, desires, wants, disappointments, and so much more. 

Now, we’re getting to what they “know.”

Uncovering emotional truths and lived experiences

What this person has finally delved into are their deepest “lived experiences”, from emotional to physical to mental. And we all have a wealth of them. Some make us happy to recall, others not so much. George R.R. Martin has referred to these lived experiences as the “emotional truth of your own life” and suggests they help writers create more compelling stories and characters. 

So now, when you weave a nurse into your plot, she doesn’t just bandage Mr. Jones’ wound or give him his next dose of chemotherapy. She talks to him, feels for him, worries for him, and tries to support him. She’ll also be comforting his worried family. Later, she may hold his head over a bedpan while he vomits or hold his hand when he’s in pain. 

Now you try it

When I taught pharmacy students how to dose premature neonates in the ICU, they learned much better when I had them apply what I was explaining to them. It’s the same process I incorporated into The Grim Reader—not just explaining how to realistically write a perilous drug scene, but giving the opportunity to practice using exercises in every chapter.

If you’d like to have a working list of your own “knows” when you sit down to craft your next story, try this little exercise to get you started:

• Task-based “knows”:
  • Start a list of some basic, practical tasks or knowledge you’ve learned in order to function in your job, life, or career. Maybe you’re a college student and understand dorm life, cafeteria food, the challenges of noisy roommates, and the stress of studying all night for a test. Or maybe you’re an engineer, or dog groomer, or a housewife. All of these experiences offer a pool of valid “knows” to draw from when writing. 
• Life experiences:
  • Add a second list of non-work-related experiences you’ve had, such as skydiving, riding a horse, or hiking. Maybe sewing your kids’ clothes when they ripped, raising a puppy, giving birth, or breaking your arm.  
• Life Lessons:
  • Add a list of lessons you’ve learned, especially through emotionally impactful events. These can include things that are both good or bad, such as betrayal, loyalty, heartbreak, or hope.
• Raw emotions you intimately know:
  • Finally, add a list of emotions you’ve personally experienced (love, sadness, happiness, grief, etc.)

See how much you know? 

These lists help provide the tools to help you turn a character from a flat 2-dimensional protagonist to one the reader relates to, empathizes with, or even hates. They will also help you take your reader on a memorable adventure. 

What “know” doesn’t mean

It was never intended that “Write what you know” would suggest that you can only write stories involving those lists you just developed. I’m pretty sure George R. R. Martin has never seen real dragons, and yet he’s been able to develop engrossing stories, with deep, rich characters and twisty plots heavily involving these beasts. 

How? 

He didn’t restrict himself to only writing solely based on his own life experiences, but combined them with imagination, some good old-fashioned writing craft, and research. You, too, can write evocative and compelling stories that go beyond your own experiences. 

What not to do when you don’t “know”

All the first-hand knowledge about your emotional truths is not going to help you create an accurate and believable story involving a real event, place, or experience you know nothing about. The worst thing a writer can do at this stage is decide to make the facts up. Yes, imagination is key to writing. But there is a line beyond which your readers will identify you as fake (especially if they know more about the subject than you do). 

For example, a number of movies have scenes involving blatantly incorrect drug effects. From the character that instantly passes out from a chloroform-soaked rag across her face to the victim who dies within seconds of an insulin overdose—these scenes are not real. Fact has been abandoned for dramatic effect. The outcome? The reviews amongst my pharmacist, nurse, and physician co-workers have been unforgiving, saving the rest of us from the need to spend time and money on a poorly written storyline.

These kinds of errors risk pulling today’s savvy readers out of the story you’ve crafted for them. In some cases, this can end up losing readers and generating bad reviews.

Do this instead

What if your character needs to parachute to safety from an airplane, but you’ve never experienced the thrill of the free-fall before you pull your chute? Or you’re planning to have a villain knock out your heroine with a sedative, without ever having felt the effects of that kind of medication yourself? 

A good first step is to begin by making a list of the story elements you need to understand before beginning to write. Then, research, research, research! But be careful. With the internet, there’s not only a world of good information at your fingertips, but also a lot of false information. Vetting your resources will be extremely important. A few places to start include: 

Librarians

Librarians are an often-overlooked valuable resource to find valid references and books on specific subjects, such as skydiving.

Videos and documentaries

Almost any subject can be found researched through online videos. 

Specialist Interviews

Speaking directly to a specialist or someone that has lived the very experience you’re writing about is another way to gain enough knowledge to believably develop your scene. For example, in order to help writers understand the barriers a homeless character would face when seeking addiction treatment, I interviewed medical specialists working with that population, before including that information in The Grim Reader. What an eye opener that was!

Visit the location

If you have the resources, visit the area you’re writing about. Interact with the locals, see how they live, talk, work. But also, realize you’re only seeing an outsider’s viewpoint and consider asking a local resident to beta read your scenes. A less costly option for geographical research can include travel videos. From the magnificent waterfalls in Iguazu to the rock cliff walls of the Grand Canyon, travel videos can offer astounding insight.  

So, should you “Write what you know?”

Yes! But now that you understand this tip is not a restrictive edict, as well as how to apply it, you should feel much more empowered as a writer. 

Did you try the exercise on listing your “knows”? Did you make any discoveries? Has your writing been hampered by the “Write what you know” recommendation in the past? Share your experiences with other writers in the comments. 

About Miffie

Miffie Seideman has been a pharmacist for over 30 years, with a passion for helping others. Her research articles have appeared in professional pharmacy journals. She blended her passion for pharmacy and her love of writing into THE GRIM READER: Putting Your Characters in Peril (A Pharmacist’s Guide For Authors), being published January 16^th, 2024 by Red Lightening Books and Indiana University Press (on X at #ReadRLB and @iupress). She’s represented by Amy Collins with Talcott Notch Literary Services.  

An avid triathlete, Miffie spends countless hours training in the arid deserts of Arizona, devising new plots for her upcoming fantasy love story. She can be found hanging around her website http://GrimReaders.com offering tips to writers and on X @MiffieSeideman…you know…tweeting. Contact her at info@grimreaders.com/ 

Image Credits 

• Twain Quote: Depositphotos
• Dragon/fantasy:  KELLEPICS, Pixabay
• Thinking man: GDJ, Pixabay
• Syringe/needle, Miffie Seideman

by Lisa Norman

The one constant with technology these days is that it’ll change much sooner than we want it to. The speed of change is only going to increase over the next year. Adaptability is now a basic life skill.

We need to remember that not all change is bad. While it can be painful to adapt, if we focus on improving our procedures as we work through the changes, we may find that change can bring unexpected benefits.

The last couple of weeks, I’ve been going through a huge tech change in my own work, and decided to share the process that I used to survive.

Awareness

The first challenge is knowing when adaptation is required. The constant bombardment of news about changes in social media platforms, companies being bought out, and potential doomsday scenarios for different companies is overwhelming. Knowing what to listen to and what to ignore is a critical part of surviving in this modern world. How can we tell what is important and what is just noise?

My example:

I knew that one of my favorite programs (Evernote) had a new owner, and I was watching the changes, but they hadn’t affected me. The new owners changed the heart of the company’s philosophy. I don’t have a problem with a company trying to make more money — and I understand the need! — but to me, how they changed was problematic.

One of the core principles of the original program was that our notes were safe with them. The creators intended Evernote to be a second brain, a place where you could safely store stuff so that you could get to it quickly but didn’t need it to take up space between your ears. I used Evernote every day. And yes, I was a paying member.

Free users could get value from the program. Over time, even free users built up a lot of information there, and Evernote kept it safe.

The new owners have new priorities: finances. All free accounts — and many of my students are on free accounts — found themselves suddenly limited. They couldn’t create new notes, and even viewing their existing notes quickly became problematic. A second brain isn’t useful when locked behind a paywall.

When I recommend a program, my reputation is on the line.

I could no longer recommend Evernote because people’s notes were becoming inaccessible. Evernote doesn’t care. Pay us money to get your brain back. That’s harsh. That’s not something I can support or recommend. I understand they bought this company to be a cash cow and they intend to milk it. And that’s their right. But I can’t send new users to experiment with a program that is going to treat them that badly.

And if I can no longer recommend the program, then why would I stay with them?

The problem:

I had thousands of notes in the program. Again, this was my most-used software program, always open on both my computer and my phone.

The first step is becoming aware of the need to change.

Discovery

I launched into an in-depth exploration of the situation and the alternatives. There was a reason I’d been recommending Evernote.

In the discovery phase, you’re experimenting and exploring, looking through the available choices. You’re also determining when the time would be right to make the change.

Here we are at the turning of the calendar. Changing programs that are this major made sense to do in December so I could start January fresh.

Everyone knows I love World Anvil. I’d already moved my writing from Evernote to the anvil. But using World Anvil as my main note program felt like bending the anvil too far from its original purpose. I’m already using it to run a school. I think I’ve pushed the edges far enough, although any time I spend in World Anvil is the best time!

I tested many alternatives and spent some time lurking in the Evernote forums, learning from other people’s experiences. There wasn’t a clear winner, a replacement I felt comfortable recommending to everyone, but I found a few that would work and that I felt safe recommending.

Acceptance

Once you’ve decided to adapt, there’s an acceptance step. You download the new software. You study it and learn. Don’t forget this step for any new software or technology. Take a moment. Accept it into your life. Explore how it works. Run some tests.

Accept that the process of adaptation is probably going to be uncomfortable.

I use an unconventional keyboard layout. (Colemak instead of QWERTY.) A friend suggested I try it when my joints started aching. It has been a tremendous boon to my life as I no longer have constant joint pain in my fingers. But during that transition? That was agony. My brain was constantly struggling. Something as fundamental as typing became foreign.

In this adaptation, I downloaded several options on my phone and my computer and tried importing my existing notes. Eventually, I settled on OneNote because it works well with the structure of the notes I have and because it makes use of a subscription I’m already paying for.

Progress

Adaptation doesn’t happen overnight. I’ve moved all my notes into the OneNote program. Then, I closed Evernote.

Currently, I’m not opening my old Evernote unless I’m stuck in OneNote. So far, I’ve only needed it once.

There was a moment when I needed to start a note quickly while talking on Zoom. Under pressure. Being watched. And then I realized there wasn’t a button to create a note the way I wanted to because OneNote forces me to create notes in a more organized fashion than I have in the past.

After I took a breath, I learned how to do something new on OneNote and decided the transition may not be the end of my creative life. (For the way I want to use OneNote, I want to keep it more organized than my old Evernote account was. I needed to find the right notebook and then add a page to it. Took me a bit, but I found it!)

As you go through the process of adaptation, celebrate the wins. Celebrate the times of success. Remember that there will be terrible moments, but there will also be new discoveries.

Transformation

As the progress continues, you’ll start getting the benefits that you were looking for in the earlier stages. Remember: you made the choice to adapt for a reason. There is a benefit. For me, it’ll be in reduced cost and not supporting a company that I no longer believe in.

What's the outcome of my adaptation? I’m becoming even more organized, and I’ve found a lot of information that I’d lost in Evernote, things I didn’t even realize I’d lost. Sweeping out my second brain and re-organizing it has been a tremendous gift. I'm spending less money, and creating new processes that are helping in every area of my work. Since OneNote is more closely integrated with other tools I use, some bumps that I'd learned to ignore are now smoothing out. It isn't easy yet, but I can see how this change will help future me.

What are some examples of adaptations you’ve needed to make in your writing life?

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of Deleyna's Dynamic Designs, a web development company focused on helping writers, and Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her brand new classroom where she teaches social media, organization skills, and marketing for authors!

Top image by Irina Drozd on Deposit Photos.