No matter who your protagonist is—a formidable galactic emperor, a morally complex teenager, or the retiree down the street with too many cats—readers must find something fundamentally relatable about them, something that resonates with their own human experience. This causes them to feel bonded to the character in a way they didn’t expect, and we need that to happen to get them invested in the story.
Tapping into our reader’s psyche to pull on their emotions is essential. Often writers focus on likeability, giving a character admirable traits, a passion, or noble mission that the reader can get behind. But the secret sauce is something more subtle yet nuanced: emotional common ground.
Tell me, do these experiences seem familiar?
Not knowing what to do
Making a mistake
Regretting a choice
Trying and failing
Wanting to quit
Needing to hide disappointment
Being unsure as to how to ask for help
Recognizing a truth too late
Knowingly doing the wrong thing
Pretending to be okay
Feeling taken advantage of
Having no good options
These are emotionally challenging moments common to us all, ones that stick with us due to the discomfort and vulnerability they cause. When we feel exposed, it’s human nature to keep those feelings to ourselves. As a result, they often become hidden experiences—things we go through that stir deep emotions but are rarely shared or discussed.
Hidden experiences are interesting because while we can feel utterly alone when they happen, if we realize someone else is going through the same thing, our first response is to feel empathy and possibly a desire to help. In fiction, hidden experiences can be a goldmine. If a character goes through something that makes them feel say, threatened, exposed, or inadequate, readers will instantly recognize it. Even better, a kinship forms because they know what it’s like to be in that character’s emotional shoes.
Where to Use Hidden Experiences
While it’s not exactly enjoyable to face life’s challenges—especially when we don’t handle them as well as we’d hope—the silver lining is that we can use those experiences to our advantage in fiction. Giving readers a front row seat to a character’s vulnerability, insecurities, and struggles is a powerful way to foster empathy and make them invested in what happens next. To get the best mileage from a hidden experience, we should think about points in a story where reinforcing common ground makes the most sense. A few ideas…
Moral Dilemmas
Navigating conflicting morals or values is never simple or easy. When a character wrestles with a moral problem, they instinctively turn inward, reasoning through their options. This process will draw the reader in, especially as they recognize that whatever the character decides, it will say something about who they are. A solution is never perfect, either, meaning a consequence or cost, which is also relatable. Whenever something important is at stake—like a person’s identity—readers can’t help but think about what they would do in the same situation and be reminded of similar moral struggles they’ve faced in their own life.
Relationship Friction
Humans are social creatures, and we invest in certain relationships. Try as we might to pretend otherwise, we do care what certain people think, and we want to belong. This is why characters experiencing difficulties in a relationship—a partner constantly putting work first, parents who love conditionally, a daughter who is growing more and more distant—pull on a reader’s heartstrings. It’s easy to relate to the desire to erase tension, a gnawing sense of unfairness, or how it feels to have a relationship-based need going unmet.
Temptation
What makes a moral dilemma or tough choice even more difficult? The presence of temptation—to take the easy road, offload a problem onto someone else, give into a bad habit, or be untruthful about what’s transpiring. Temptation is a great hidden experience to use because all readers have been lured by its song. Everyone has felt the pull to justify their actions even knowing they are wrong. They also very likely have experienced the cost of giving in to temptation, so while they will root for a character to resist, they will be somewhat sympathetic if it goes the other way, too.
Connect Hidden Experiences to the Fabric of Your Story
Life can be painful, so we all have a lot of real-world hidden experiences on our bingo card. But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be choosy about which ones we write into the story. Sure, readers can relate to a protagonist’s shame and guilt at being caught in a lie, but if their choice to do so has no real bearing on the story or character’s arc, it won’t land right with readers. For hidden experiences to juice your story with meaning, think about where the plot needs to go, the lessons your character needs to learn, and what common internal suffering will be the perfect fit to make the character’s situation more relatable and poignant to readers.
Don’t Hold Back
Some of you might find it hard to poke your character’s soft spots, but I promise you, the payoff is huge. Not only are you building in powerful points of connection between characters and your audience, but you also ensure they become deeply invested in the story’s resolution. Readers want to see good things happen for the people they care about, especially those who have endured familiar trials and struggles.
Have you ever read about a character’s hidden experience and felt instant empathy? Tell me about it!
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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.
Author visits are very rewarding for everyone involved. The teaching staff have nonstop stress, much like parents do, and appreciate the visit. The staff is entertained, or at the very least have some down time, and the students like interacting with the author.
Students of all ages enjoy meeting writers. Be ready for all kinds of interesting and sometimes personal questions, such as: How old are you?Are you rich?
As authors, we can educate, entertain, become better known as writers, and sometimes receive funds.
How to book a gig at a school
For me, what worked best was personal contact with teachers and school librarians. Check your local school district and ask about author visits. Keep in mind that security is an issue and you may need to be vetted by the district before being allowed access to the classrooms.
Social media can be helpful. Search for teachers who work with students that are at the reading level for your books. This can lead to long distance—Skype or Zoom—visits which are a lot of fun.
Compensation
Be flexible. Some schools don't have the budget for a big fee, but can promote you and your books before the visit to students and their parents. That way you can sell your books on the day of your visit.
Equipment
Make sure the school has the equipment you need for your talks. But be prepared to have to go without. Technology is fantastic, until it isn’t. Let the teachers know how you'd like the classrooms set up. But be flexible. Keep in mind that sometimes more than one classroom will share the space for your visit.
Not all schools have the same level of technology. Be a good scout—be prepared for anything. You may end up using a board and markers, one never knows.
Book information
Be sure to send a list, with recommended reading ages and cost, a few weeks before your visit, so your contact at the school has time to send it out to families.
Suggestions for the classroom or school library
Instead of merely reading from your story, try incorporating a few of the following ideas if you’d like.
Children have fleeting attention spans, so take this into account. Generally, the younger the child, the shorter the attention. What works for fifth graders will not translate well for kindergarten.
Pre-K and Kinder
Very young students do well with bright, cheerful voices that allow for lots of interruptions. They love an exuberant story told with lots of emotion and gestures. Illustrations work very well for them. If you have the capability to show your illustrated book on a large screen while reading the story you’ll keep your audience captivated.
First and Second Grades
I’ve had good fortune with poetry, specifically rhyming poetry, with the early grades. Try having the students help you come up with rhyming words and make up a logical, or nonsensical poem with the rhyming words.
Third Grade and up
The rule of three
For older students, breaking up your time into three segments is helpful. You talk for the first third, have the students work in small groups for second third, and everyone gets back together to share their projects/ideas for the last segment. Note that this method works very well for adults while giving talks at conferences.
This is a great method to introduce ways to write stories.
Chat with the teachers ahead of time to find out what you can add to their Language Arts time.
And now for something completely different
Aside from reading aloud to the students, teaching short lessons on writing, and using the rule of three: talk, small group work, big group share, you might try something different—particularly for the younger students. Puppets.
Sock Puppet Tim
The inspiration for Tim arrived when our eldest child, then eight-years-old, came home from school requesting a puppet she needed to bring to school … the very next day.
My very creative husband sewed a puppet together for her. I was in graduate school during the evenings and missed the puppet construction. And so, Tim was born. Although, he didn’t receive his name until thirty or so years later when he was needed as a sidekick for a video. A story for another day.
Tim has a wacky personality and voice.
Here’s a short script I wrote for a presentation on YouTube. In a classroom of younger students, something similar can be used with a teacher asking the puppet, in this case Sock Puppet Tim, questions on a particular topic. This script is about sharing.
Sock Puppet Tim Speaks About Sharing
Tim, why do kids have trouble sharing toys? (VO) voice over
Well, toys are very important to kids.
What if someone said you had to share your car and didn’t say when the car would be back? How does that make you feel?
I don’t think I’d like to share my car unless it was very important. Good point, Tim. (VO)
Parents and kids all need to learn how to share. What can parents, teachers, and babysitters do to help kids have an easier time sharing? (VO)
Adult could say, “It’s your friend’s turn to play with the toy in five minutes.”
It’s easier to give the toy to someone else when you know you have more time.
Tim, what do you do when someone really can’t let go of a toy? Should you take the toy away and give it to another person? (VO)
Oh, that’s a bad idea. That will only make the child sad and maybe cry.
It teaches the kids it is okay to do what you want if you are bigger and stronger. I think this might be how bullying starts. Kids learn how to bully. They are not born that way.
Adult could say, “Here is a different toy. See if your friend will trade.” That works for me! One time I really wanted my friend’s cool red car. It was really fast. She wouldn’t give it to me. Tim was sad.
What did you do Tim? (VO)
Well, I had a purple and blue car. I showed it to her and asked if we could trade. She said yes. Made Tim happy!
Wow, Tim, you know your stuff. How did you get so smart? (VO)
Well, I may just be a sock puppet, but I pay attention. Sharing is in Ellen’s book. See, this one here. Good stuff in here.
Gotta go.
If anyone has questions for Tim, go to www.ellenbuikema.com Find me there and ask me questions. I answer. Ellen types. I have no hands or feet!! Typing with nose hurts too much.
Bye Bye.
I love YouTube!
Final thoughts
School visits are wonderful opportunities to get the word out, market your books, as well as practice working an audience. Public speaking is an artform that benefits from practice. The students and staff are a great audience. Enjoy!
Have you ever gone to schools for author visits? If so, what worked for you? Do you use the rule of three for presentations?
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About Ellen
Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.
So you’ve written a first (or 100th) draft of your novel. Your emotions range from “Look how good I write” to “It’s rough, but I can fix it,” to “It’s broken beyond repair.” Maybe you’ve done this revision thing dozens of times before, but this novel is turning into a nightmare. Join me in a deep dive into revision tips, tricks, and techniques.
This isn’t a journey for the faint of heart nor for the authors who believe their books are “good enough.” This is for those who want to create the best book they can. Writing out the process in detail makes it large and ungainly. How quickly you can get through this process depends on the condition of your first draft, the level of your skills, your ability to analyze your own work, and the time you have available to work these steps. With repetition it gets faster and smoother.
Full disclosure. I’ve spent a lot of years learning from some of the best in the business. You’ll see bits of learning from Margie Lawson, Donald Maass, Holly Lisle, and Dwight V. Swain, plus a lot more. These things have worked for me in the past or are working for me now. YMMV. Cultivate what you think might work and test it. There will be bits that work for you and there will be parts that absolutely do not work for you. That’s okay. A guide is a tool to use how, when, and where you need it.
I will give you a lot of detailed steps over the next few posts I write. While I strongly recommend you do every step the first time you deconstruct one of your own stories, as your skill grows, what and how you edit will evolve. Those of you who have experience doing this sort of thing may wish to try a few of these steps. Explore any that appeal to you.
Preparation
This is a systematic way to check for those times when you (the author) made assumptions, forgot details, or lost track of plot threads. You know the story you meant to write. Unfortunately, what you wrote and what your reader sees aren’t necessarily the same thing. Even those of you who use detailed outlines can miss a few things in the first draft.
Let It Cool
One of the human foibles most of us have is that when we re-read our own work, we often see what we thought we wrote. This is especially true if you recently finished writing the story. That’s why it’s recommended that you let a draft sit in a drawer (digital or real) for a while. “A while” is a different time frame for each author. Waiting allows you to “forget” some of your words and your intentions so you can see the words on the page with fresher eyes.
Get a Fresh Perspective
Alpha readers read the complete manuscript can be helpful in giving you the headspace to see your manuscript through fresh eyes. I strongly recommend that you find two or three trusted author-friends read the completed story. Consider making a list of questions to give each reader. Questions to ask can include: Which character did you want to read more about? Where did the story go too slow or too fast? Where did you get lost or not understand what was going on? Could you see what was happening in your mind’s eye?
Don’t make the list too long or you will overwhelm your reader. Invite your readers to give additional feedback.
Consider offering these first readers a free copy of the book when it’s published. If you have the means, offer an autographed physical book. These are not rewards, but thanks for the time and work that your first readers put in on your project.
Prepare the Manuscript
There are many ways to trick your brain into seeing your manuscript with fresh eyes. Many research studies have shown that people skim electronic text, so I prefer to use a physical print out of my story.
Some people change the font or the font style. Others change the color or size of the print. Try everything. Different things might work better for you at different times or on different manuscripts.
Space and Time
I don’t know about you, but my desk is never clean when I finish the last chapter. To prepare for editing, I clear off all the old reference notes, research books, and printouts. A clean work surface signals your brain that this is a new project.
Changing your location for the read through is another way to trick your brain out of the writing-editing modes and into a reader’s mindset. Consider reading your manuscript in your favorite reading spot. Or take it to the library or coffee shop.
You’ll need to schedule time—large blocks of time to do your revision. The first time, you’ll need far longer than you think you will, so be generous with your estimate. Plan for thinking time and writing time, and perhaps some time for research as well.
Supplies
I recommend hand-written notes because they slow your thoughts down, but you do you. You’ll need physical or digital index cards, tons of self-adhesive notes of various sizes, and multi-colored pens or pencils or highlighters. Plus, if you haven’t started your story bible, you’ll need a notebook or folder designated to become your story bible.
Have a dictionary and at least one thesaurus available. These can be digital or paper according to your preference.
Stock your work area with plenty of water to drink and snacks if you’re the kind to go looking for something to eat and get distracted.
The late Holly Lisle recommended choosing a set of songs you can play on endless repeat. You’ll only play this music while you are working on your revision. It’s another way to cue your editor-brain that it's time to work.
The First Step
In the first step of this process, you need to take your “editor cap” off and put your “reader cap” on. You are going to sit down and read your manuscript in as close to one sitting as possible without changing one thing. You heard me. Not one tiny edit. Don’t even change a comma.
I don’t know about you, but I find this darn near impossible to do. The way I trick my brain into not editing at all is by using those little self-adhesive flags, dozens of them. Every time I see something that I want to edit, I stick a flag on that line. That tricks my editor-brain to let go of that because the flag means I’ll get back to it later.
When you finish reading, write a review of the book. Yup. Remember, you’re acting as a reader. Write out what you liked and didn’t like and how the book makes you feel now that you’ve re-read it. Give the book stars, even if it’s only a one star at this point. It’s okay because you’re going to learn how to fix all those things you see as problems right now.
Next Steps
Next month, I’ll give you guidelines on how to take your story apart. Later we’ll analyze the parts, and in the following months we’ll learn to fix the broken pieces and make the most of the good parts, and finally we’ll put them back together so your novel shines like a multi-faceted diamond.
What do you find to be the hardest part about preparing to edit your manuscript?
About Lynette
Lynette M. Burrows is an author, blogger, creativity advocate, and Yorkie wrangler. She survived moving seventeen times between kindergarten and her high school graduation. This alone makes her uniquely qualified to write an adventure or two.
Her Fellowship series is a “chillingly realistic” dystopian alternate history where even the elite can be judged an unbeliever and hunted by the Angels of Death. Books one and two, My Soul to Keep, and If I Should Die, are available everywhere books are sold online. Book three, And When I Wake, is scheduled to be published in 2025.
Lynette lives in the land of OZ. She is a certifiable chocoholic and coffee lover. When she’s not blogging or writing or researching her next book, she avoids housework and plays with her two Yorkshire terriers. You can find Lynette online on Facebook or on her website.
