Tag: writing techniques

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Talking Character

Five Questions for Portraying Anger

Anger comes in many shades, from miffed to murderous. Each shade looks and feels different. When a person is miffed, he might roll his eyes or make a snarky comment. When a person is enraged to the point of being murderous, adrenaline is pumping through his body, making him tense, flushed, and ready to punch someone.

Anger expresses itself differently in different people. No two people respond to anger the same way. Some tend towards melodrama while others keep a tight rein on their emotions. For example: Some teachers constantly yell at their students in order control the classroom. Others rarely raise their voice. I remember being more terrified the one day my normally serene homeroom teacher raised his voice than I ever was at the threats of the constant shouters.

[bctt tweet=”With all this variability, writers must take care to describe anger in convincing and imaginative ways.” username=””]

Here are five questions to ask when a scene calls for anger.

  1. Where am I in the story? A story builds tension as it moves towards the climax. You want to slowly increase emotional intensity, and peak during the climax. That doesn’t mean your characters can’t be angry in earlier scenes, but do keep the overall arc in mind. You should allow your characters room to let their emotions grow and deepen, especially those that will be significant in the climax.
  2. What nuance am I looking for? Look up anger in a thesaurus and scan the synonyms. Select one that best captures the nuance of the emotion your character is feeling. Next, determine what sorts of physical and mental responses suit that specific emotion. A good resource for this is The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.
  3. How does my character’s personality affect how she responds? Some temperaments are naturally more expressive than others. Some characters have volatile tempers while others have learned to stuff their emotions (until the clever writer forces them into a corner and suddenly they can’t hold them in any longer). Like in the school example above, one character’s shout may indicate frustration while another character would only shout when furious. Try to keep your characters’ responses consistent and appropriate for their personalities. And always keep in mind that your characters’ responses to anger are probably different from your own.
  4. Is the response appropriate for the situation? I remember a girl in high school who acted by using stock emotions that she put on and off like a mask. All angry scenes had the same intensity, regardless of the situation. If I had the emotional sophistication to detect this two-dimensional acting in high school, your readers can detect similar lack of authenticity in your characters. A character should not become irate when someone cuts in front of them in line—unless you have built the story to explain why the character reacts so out of proportion to the offense.
  5. What emotion(s) underlie the anger? Sometimes anger is just anger, but often the root of anger is some other emotion, such as fear, guilt, or shame. Humans often use anger to conceal other emotions, intentionally or unintentionally. Consider a character’s backstory and their inner issues. When is their anger response actually hiding something deeper? Do they realize it or not? How can you bring that deeper emotion to play on the page?

Anger. It’s a powerful emotion. Use it wisely.

[bctt tweet=”What other emotions does anger hide in your characters? #writer #amwriting” username=””]

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Dear Young Scribes

What is Deep POV, and why is It Important?

Have you ever tried to tell your friends about an experience you had, but they didn’t give you the response you hoped for? Maybe they didn’t laugh when you gave the punchline of the story. You then tried to cover up your shame by saying, “You just had to be there.”

 

If we write our books in a shallow POV rather than in deep POV, we risk that same “cricket chirping” response from our audience. We’re narrating a story that could come across as much more powerful if we chose to instead invite the reader to experience it.

 

Deep POV is a way of showing rather than telling. It’s a writing technique that has grown in popularity over the past couple decades or so. When we write in deep POV, we’re giving our readers the opportunity to step into our protagonist’s shoes. They’ll walk through the pages of the story as if they themselves were the character.

 

If we can accomplish this, the setting will come to life. The journey that the protagonist takes will have more of an impact on the reader. Why? Because the reader wasn’t simply told about an experience our character had; they journeyed along with them.

 

Readers today–especially fans of YA fiction–search for these stories. They long to open a book and become transported into a different time and place. They want to forget about their surroundings, and even forget that they’re reading a book. They’re searching for stories that sweep them off their feet in an entertaining, thrilling, and emotional rollercoaster.

 

How can we, as authors, offer this kind of reading experience to our readers?

 

Avoid all traces of authorship. Resist the urge to tell the story. Engage all five senses. And when you write, step through the scene as if you are the character. This means you can only show the scene through their eyes. Everything must be filtered through your protagonist’s POV.

 

Here’s an example:

 

NOT Deep POV: Anna saw the bouquet of roses on the dining room table and smelled their sweet scent. Who brought these? she wondered.

 

Deep POV: Anna stepped into the kitchen, overtaken by a floral aroma. Where did that come from? The scent grew stronger as she peered into the dining room. A smile slid onto her lips. There it was. A bouquet of roses, tucked into a glass vase at the center of the table. Where could that have come from?

 

Notice how deep POV requires more words. If we want to offer this experience to our readers, it will require more work. Showing a scene almost always requires more words. But the payoff is worth it.

 

In the example that isn’t written in deep POV, the words “saw”, “smelled”, and “wondered” brings the reader out of Anna’s POV. It tells the audience what happened, yes—but it does so in a narrative form.

 

This is the difference between telling a friend about a scene from a movie and letting them watch it for themself.  

 

When writing in shallow POV, we risk the scene from coming to life in the reader’s imagination. We risk not giving our readers the opportunity to build a strong connection with our protagonist.

 

You might say, “Books weren’t always written in deep POV, yet people still enjoyed them. Why can’t I write my book in shallow POV, too?”

 

Think of it this way: Movies weren’t always filmed in color. Yet, the use of color in today’s films brings scenes to life. It provides an even deeper sense of realism and escapism. Why use tools of the past when we’ve been given far more powerful tools to tell our story?

 

If you want your book to resonate with today’s reader, and if you want to sell your book to an agent/publisher, I recommend utilizing this deep POV writing technique. Most agents and publishers today will reject or ask for a revision if a manuscript is written in shallow POV.

 

No, this isn’t an easy task to accomplish. It requires far more work. But you’re painting color to a black-and-white story. You’re adding “scratch and sniff” pages to your book. The result? Your readers will be brought deeper into the heart, mind, and emotions of your POV character.

 

The motivations of your protagonist will become more clear. The character ARC, more realistic. And when your protagonist reaches his/her “epiphany moment” at the end of the story, so will your reader. Thus, the theme of your story will have far more impact to your readers than if it were written in shallow POV.

 

So if you can accomplish this—if you write your story in deep POV—you won’t have to risk the “cricket chirping” response. You won’t have to tell your readers, “You just had to be there.”

 

Because they were there. They lived it. You wrote a book that entertained, provided escapism, tapped into emotions.

 

And as writers, shouldn’t that be our ultimate goal of storytelling anyway?

 

 

What’s your opinion of deep POV? Have you tried to write a story that utilizes this technique? Share your thoughts in the comments!

 

[bctt tweet=”What is Deep POV, and why is It Important? @TessaEmilyHall #amwriting #writerslife” via=”no”]

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Dear Young Scribes

How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: Part 1

Setting is far more than the backdrop of a novel. It’s the environment that breathes life into a story. It can paint hues of emotion, provide necessary backstory, enhance characterization, and serve as a tool to unfold significant plot elements.

When a writer prepares to write a book, they should spend just as much time researching and developing a setting as they do with their characters. In fact, setting should be treated with much attention as if it were a character in itself.

Think of your favorite book. How would the plot differ if it were set in the snow-capped mountains of Colorado? Or in a dry desert of New Mexico?

When a writer accurately portrays a believable setting for their novel, the reader becomes sucked into the story. This should be done in a way so that the story would not be the same if it were set in another location.

For example: The setting is a crucial element in the movie The Titanic. It would be impossible to set that story in another location; the entire plot would unravel.

Readers fall in love with books that present well-developed settings and story worlds. What would The Chronicles of Narnia be without Narnia? Or Anne of Green Gables without Green Gables?

When choosing a setting, ask yourself:

  •  What is the mood and theme of this story? What kind of location—a small town, big city, etc.—would best portray this?
  •  How will the setting affect the plot of the story?
  •  Will I use a real town or invent one?
  •  What cities—including my hometown— am I familiar with? Out of those, which one am I most passionate about?
  •  How can I weave symbolism into this setting?
  •  How does the setting influence my protagonist? What is his/her attitude toward this location? 
(This is a great way to unravel backstory — through showing the memories tied to her surroundings.)

blue ridge mountains

I chose Lake Lure, NC for the setting of Purple Moon for the following reasons:

  1.  I realized I had yet to read a YA novel that was set in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina.
  2.  I knew I wanted to set the story in the south since I am from SC.
  3.  I came across a photograph of the mountains outlining a lake. This inspired me to do a Google search of lakes in North Carolina.
  4.  After I found a list, I chose Lake Lure because the name reflected a theme in the novel.
  5.  Since my protagonist is an artist, the mountains tucked into the lake keeps her inspired and reflects her personality.

If you want your readers to become swept away in your story, it’s crucial that you spend necessary time researching your setting before you begin to write.

It’s important to research your setting for the following reasons:

  • Believability
  •  Accuracy
  •  So your readers can feel as if they have stepped into 
the pages of your book. You want to give them the sense 
that they are living in the story.
  •  To prevent your story from unfolding in front of a “closed 
curtain”.

In the next post, we’ll discuss how to go about researching your setting and how to filter it through the eyes of your protagonist.

[bctt tweet=”How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: Part 1 via @TessaEmilyHall #write” username=””]

What is your favorite story setting? How does it enhance the plot, theme, mood, and protagonist of the novel?