Writers in the Storm

Julie Glover

Today is the day I'm supposed to publish a "Farewell, y'all!" message, as I'm stepping away from the Writers in the Storm hosting team after March.

I started writing my So Long and Thanks for All the Fish post a while ago, and then COVID-19 swept across the planet. I kept working on the post, trying to revamp it to include some quarantine-worthy takeaways. But then, my grown son came down with a fever and a cough, and next thing I knew I was sitting here on tenterhooks waiting for his Coronavirus test results.

Spoiler alert: Test was negative.

While waiting, I had this low hum of anxiety (and ditched that draft post). Not that we were all that worried about a young, healthy twenty-something having this virus—statistics show he's not at high risk—but the idea that he could have passed it on to others was disconcerting.

Yep, it wasn't the idea of him having the virus as much as concern that it could spread.

Some things are contagious.

Many of us are stuck at home or working more hours to stop the spread of Coronavirus, a disease with a transmission rate of 2-3, meaning each carrier infects two to three persons. (For comparison, the flu's transmission rate is about 1.3.)

But when we look up the word contagious, disease is not its only meaning. Yes, that's the first one listed, but look at the second meaning.

And that's where I want to focus today. So many other things can be contagious: positive feelings, happiness, smiling, laughter, success.

What are you exposed to?

It matters what we expose ourselves to. Research has shown a number of problematic things are contagious: negative thinking, loneliness, itching, stress, and workplace rudeness, to name a few.

Among the positives are those named before—good feelings, happiness, smiling, laughter, and success—as well as weight loss, risk-taking, and a desire for new shoes. Yes, I'm counting that last one as a positive—do not challenge me!

Another contagious trait? Generosity.

Generosity spreads.

Research has established that generosity can spread from one to another.

In a 2010 study, participants were given the opportunity to contribute money to others. Those who'd received money were more likely to later give than others who had not received generosity from others, by a magnitude of three times. A 2016 study showed that even watching others make generous donations encourages participants to donate more.

Perhaps my favorite is a study from 2008 in which a "a single person acting as a 'consistent contributor'—someone who chooses to be generous all the time, regardless of other people’s choices— causes other people in a group to be more generous and cooperative."

I've seen this happen again and again in the writer community. Someone begins, and a contagion of generosity erupts!

Writers in the Storm is a generous place.

One of the reasons I agreed to help host Writers in the Storm was the generosity displayed here. Laura Drake, Jenny Hansen, and Fae Rowen have been professionally and personally some of the most generous writers I know, and working with them was a pleasure.

In addition, authors from various backgrounds guest blog and provide free writing advice. That's generosity right there.

Do they make some book sales? We certainly hope so! But most of our bloggers don't do it for that reason; they do it because generosity is contagious. They benefited from the kindness of others, and they pay it forward.

Let's be generous with each other.

In the midst of self-isolation, quarantine, global pandemic, apocalypse—whatever you want to call this—we can take advantage of the generosity of writers. Many already had resources available for free or have offered books or courses at discounted prices or for free.

For example, this past week I binged quite a few of Becca Syme's free Quitcast videos.

https://youtu.be/XWZPgFDF5NQ

This is a great time to back through Writers in the Storm posts, in which many, many writers have shared free writing advice.

And I noticed that Audible is offering over 200 stories for free, without a trial or subscription.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg! Writers are a generous bunch, cheering one another on and up in so many ways.

Today I invite you to share in the comments any free or discounted resources you know of that writers can take advantage of during this time. Let's spread our generosity far and wide!

Photo credit: Anemone123-2637160R

Sources: The Science of Generosity - John Templeton Foundation; Fowler, Paige. “8 Things You Didn't Know Were Contagious.” Shape.

About Julie

Julie Glover writes mysteries and young adult fiction. Her YA contemporary novel, SHARING HUNTER, finaled in the 2015 RWA® Golden Heart® and is now on sale! When not writing, she collects boots, practices rampant sarcasm, and advocates for good grammar and the addition of the interrobang as a much-needed punctuation mark.

Julie is represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency. You can visit her website here and also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Ellen Buikema

Do you remember a time when you suffered from sensory overload?

This happened to me at a SIGGRAPH Conference in Detroit, Michigan, my first and last computer graphics conference. I remember sitting in a large room in front of an enormous screen with no idea of what to expect.

What followed was a blur of fast-paced images that left me breathless and in need to flee for visual quiet which I was unable to do. Trapped in a room full of people, I wondered how many others felt as I did. I needed the world to stop. Many, many people are feeling that way right now, as they hunker down in their homes.

White space helps keep sensory overload at bay. Being bombarded with too much sound can cause some to become irritated, so can too many visuals.

I think about my days as a Resource Specialist Program teacher and how upset my students with learning disabilities became when there were too many words or math problems on a page. Sometimes they felt so overwhelmed that they panicked and froze, unable to complete more than a small percentage of their work. Adding white space changed everything. It gave breathing space. Calm.

Like a pause in a song, white space can help create drama, emotion, a bit of quiet before a storm of words.

White space is the canvas where we paint our words.

Writers can affect readers with the use of white space in several ways.

1. White space draws the reader’s attention to the words on the page, makes the print easier to read, and improves comprehension.

2. Space on the page makes finding where the reader left off reading quick and easy.

3. Kerning, the space between letters, can change the look of the print and add meaning. Just as using all capitals can be interpreted as yelling, extra space between letters may emphasize speaking words slowly. “You need to  s  l  o  w  down.”

4. The use of white space at the beginning and ending of chapters gives the reader a visual break. Some writers and formatters choose to begin a new chapter halfway down the page. Others like to start all chapters on the right hand side of the book for physical copies. A new chapter beginning on the same page as the previous chapter looks like a formatting error.

5. Line spacing may be adjusted to fit next to or around a photo or illustration, or from left to right margin across the page. Avoiding a line with the final word of a sentence dangling all by its lonesome self on the following page is a good thing and can be done using line spacing as well as kerning.

6. Blank pages are helpful in the case of an anthology of short stories, particularly if the spacing and word count send the ending of one story onto the right-hand page. A blank side gives the reader emotional space to regroup for the next tale.

Ways to create white space:

1. The use of images surrounded by a margin of space: illustrations, icons, graphs, photos, all give the reader a brief rest and let the mind focus on something different.

2. Bullet points and numbered lists make reading quicker, scannable.

3. Variable sentence lengths make for more pleasurable reading. Too many long sentences in a row create blocky text. If you pause and go back to a big block of text, it is really difficult to find one’s place.

4. Use shorter paragraphs. Big chunks of information are frustratingly hard to read.

White space doesn’t have to be the color white.

Anything not drawing one’s attention on the print on a physical book, eBook, or webpage is considered white space. A patterned or colored background is also considered white space.

Book covers:

The first thing your potential reader sees while perusing what to read next is the book cover. Whether shopping in a bookstore or online, your future customers will make a visual first-pass. If the cover is appealing, then they’ll read the back cover information and read some reviews prior to purchase.

Much of the time, we don’t pay too much attention to white space. It should go unnoticed. However, when there is too much information in too little space, we clearly miss it as we stumble into cluttered chaos.

Busy covers do not work. When pouring over the many thumbnail images of book covers online, too much informative print will be difficult to read. If there is a plethora of elements on your book’s cover, there’s a good chance the reader will avoid your book.

White space on the book’s cover allows the creation of a focal point to make that cover pop!

How do you use elements of white space in your work?

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Work In Progress, The Hobo Code, is YA historical fiction.

Find her at http://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Photo credits: ©Tirachard, ©Rosinka79

Lisa Hall-Wilson

Writing emotional triggers, while optional, will take your writing to all-new levels of emotional connection for readers. This is a shortened sample lesson from my 5-week masterclass on writing in deep point of view.

In my book Method Acting For Writers, I talk about writing emotions in four layers: primary emotions (instinctive, knee-jerk, unthinking emotional responses), emotional triggers (optional), secondary emotions (thinking emotional responses to primary emotions), and behavior (what those emotions force the character to DO).

Don’t Google primary and secondary emotions—the clinical definitions are too nebulous to be a helpful template. In the context of fiction writing, whether an emotion is a primary or secondary emotion has more to do with what’s fueling the emotion.

Anger is almost always a secondary emotion—we’re angry because of/or in response to something.

But take attraction for instance; this can an instinctive response the character has no control over (a primary emotion), but it can also be a feeling that develops over time with familiarity (a secondary emotion). Thinking of emotions this way ensures the WHY is built-in for readers.

What Is An Emotional Trigger?

An emotional trigger, then, is a rehearsed or learned response to a known emotional scenario. Triggers skip the primary emotion phase and jump right to an over-the-top secondary emotion.

For example, your character spills mustard on their shirt. They may recall their dad berating them for having a stain on their shirt and shouting that they’re lazy. Instead of feeling frustrated or annoyed initially (which might be the case without an emotional trigger at play), they’re instantly over-the-top angry. The character’s response then may be to lash out at the hot-dog vendor, their secretary, or a passerby who startled them.

It isn’t that the primary emotions aren’t there; it’s that your character may not even be aware of WHY they’re reacting so strongly. The key to writing compelling emotional triggers is tiny bits of backstory dripped in. Over time, when a pattern is established in addition to the bits of backstory, the reader will be able to piece together what the trigger is. The reader will lean in, engage, participate in the story to figure out what’s going on with this character they care about.

Triggers Are Often Tied to Your Character’s Perceived Source of Identity

What does your character pride themselves on having, being, doing, possessing, needing, controlling, etc.? Do they rest their identity in any of these things? What does your character value most and fears having taken away?

Some common ones are: acceptance, respect, being liked, being needed, freedom, attention, being in control, autonomy, safety, etc.

How to Show and Not Tell an Emotional Trigger

Primary emotions are usually felt, and secondary emotions are usually seen. How does that work with emotional triggers when the character might not know what primary emotion is at play?

Eliza has shipped the kids off to Grandma’s for the night and gotten dressed up—as a surprise. But hubs is two hours later coming home than normal, without answering texts, emails, or phone calls to explain the delay.

By 7PM, Eliza has changed out of the sexy outfit she’d been wearing into a terry bathrobe. Without an emotional trigger, you might show primary emotions like frustration (feeling taken for granted), concern (did something happen at work), fear (was he in an accident), and/or jealousy (was there another woman). 

But if Eliza had an emotional trigger of say … feeling taken for granted, once he arrived home and admitted he’d forgotten to text her and then forgotten his phone at his desk—she wouldn’t be aware of any of those primary emotions and instead be instantly angry (feeling taken for granted acts as the primary emotion in this case, though she might not be aware of it).

The secondary emotion triggered will be very strong; these emotions can’t simply be shaken off or soothed. She might rail or shout at him that he doesn’t love her. No one loves her. She might think that her marriage is over. She might level irrational or left-field accusations at him—"You think I’m ugly. "

Ahhhh—do you see what I did there? Either she says these things or thinks these things, but do you see the hints there at what the primary emotions involved are, what the threatened identity or fears involved might be? This is how you make triggers work in deep POV.

What Do Other Characters Observe?

These night-and-day emotional hairpin turns are observable. They seem to come out of nowhere. One workaround, if the character wouldn’t organically THINK of what the trigger is, is to have another character point out the irrational behavior or inconsistent response.

The husband could put up his hands. “Hang on! What’s the big deal? I’m sorry I ruined your surprise, but it’s only seven o’clock. We can still have your romantic evening.”

Another character can observe that this behavior isn’t normal, it is over-the-top for that character, or their reaction isn’t fair or is irrational. The character themselves might be aware of those things, so you could use internal dialogue, even if they feel unable to stop or temper their emotional reaction.

Have you used emotional triggers in your fiction or has this post made you want to use them?

Make sure to visit Lisa’s free Facebook group Going Deeper Writing Emotions for tips, free content, and other goodies.

About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a national award-winning freelance journalist and author who loves mentoring writers. Fascinated by history, fantasy, romance, and faith, Lisa blends those passions into historical and historical-fantasy novels. Find Lisa’s blog, Beyond Basics for intermediate writers,  at www.lisahallwilson.com.