Bleeding Into your Words

When it comes to writing, wordsmiths sometimes hold back on the deeper emotion. While there are times that works—I doubt writing out a recipe is terribly heartrending—there are other scenarios that beg for an author to bleed a bit through their words. Without the infusion of feeling, you may not connect with your reader. If there is little connection, you could risk losing the attention of not just your readers, but editors and agents as well.

Sometimes I see a question on social media from a writer who seems surprised that they cry when they are reading over their work. They wonder if this is normal.

I say a resounding “YES!” This is not just normal but you have accomplished the goal of expressing deeper emotions that bring your story to life.

This can be a challenge for many writers because bleeding on the page makes us feel vulnerable. It forces us to examine feelings that we prefer to keep hidden in our hearts. But when was the last time you experienced a book that made you cry? Did the words that elicited tears make you want to stop reading? Not likely. You probably picked up a tissue, blew your nose—and proceeded to finish the story.

You may wonder how you can express emotions when a fictional storyline you’ve created is an unfamiliar pain in your own life. I’d suggest two things: 1. Interview someone with experience in that particular loss (i.e. someone who has lost a pet, a parent, a child). 2. Search your memory for a similar experience and recall exactly how you felt. You can glean much from your life that transfers into your writing.

In my YA historical, “Fields of the Fatherless,” the heroine’s father is killed in a battle. Although my father died under completely different circumstances, I’ll never forget touching his stiffened body at the visitation service. I then described how “Betsy” experienced the same sensation. I cried a great deal writing that scene, and through many other scenes in that book. In fact, through every edits I worked on, I repeatedly cried at the same scenes again and again. I had allowed my emotions to drip into the words. The result was a book read by many, which won or was a finalist in four awards, and continues to sell on Amazon despite its release date in 2013.

Will every book require deep emotion? Of course not. But when sorrow and pain becomes appropriate, go for it. I encourage you to bleed that emotion into your words.

Carry on.

Elaine Marie Cooper is the award-winning author of Fields of the Fatherless and Bethany’s Calendar. Her latest release (Saratoga Letters) was finalist in Historical Romance in both the Selah Awards and Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She penned the three-book Deer Run Saga and has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies. She freely admits to being a history geek. She has a four-book series set in Revolutionary War Connecticut that will begin releasing this year. You can visit her site at www.elainemariecooper.com