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Emotional response: how to connect with your readers
  Novels and the emotions they evoke
    What do readers look for?
      Fresh characters
      Unique settings
      Something that the readers know but presented in a way that moves them
    What are their emotional needs?
      A need for new information
      A need to identify and relate with the main character
      A need for resolution and completion
      Emotional impact
    Types of storytelling emotions
      voyeuristic (from curiosity)
      vicarious (identifying with the main character)
      visceral (the experienced emotions) -- these are the ones that lead to entertainment of the reader
    Techniques you can use
      Write in scenes that show the reader through character action and response rather than in narration that tells what happened. Help the reader step into your characters' shoes and feel what the character feels.
      Help the reader identify with your characters by making your characters sympathetic. The better the reader gets to know and understand your characters, the more likely they are to identify with them. The tragedies that happen to strangers will not mean as much as tragedies that happen to friends and family.
      Alternately, make your characters unsympathetic (e.g., show them being cruel and uncaring).
      Don't take it easy on your characters and those near to them; death, injury, misunderstanding, betrayal, forced choices.
      Anticipation heightens emotions: tease the reader with hints of what is to come.
      Your word choices can trigger emotional cues. E.g., having a character use language they do not normally do can shock the reader. You can use words throughout the scene to match the thematic overtunes. Harsh and sharp words go best with harsh emotions, etc.
      Establish situations that are important (life-altering/life-threatening); set things up so that your protagonist's actions having meaning and consequences.
      Use time constraints to heighten the tension.
      Force your character to choose between a bad option and a worse one.
      Keep the story moving; use the story pacing to keep the tension but remember to leaven this with character development/interaction "breathers" so you do not exhaust your readers. Note that shorter sentences and paragraphs can help to speed the pace; longer phrases and paragraphs slow it down.
      Keep the story realistic. Unrealistic problems and situations can bring your reader out of your book.
      Use surprise to keep the reader guessing and off of a sure footing.
      Interweave conflict into every scene. There are different levels and dimensions to conflict.
      Reduce focus on unnecessary/unrelated details to keep the reader's attention on one emotion (when you are trying to do that). Stay in the moment.
      Use the right setting to set up the reader's reaction and heighten their emotional response.
  Approaches to plotting/planning (tools)
    Mindmaps (XMind and Freeplane)
    storyboard process with index cards and bulletin boards
    snowflake method
      step one:
      step two:
      step three
      the snowflake
  Your story idea
    Should be "uniquely familiar" -- fresh take on a topic and yet gives us emotional familiarity
    Your character desires something and something/someone opposes your character
    Conflict and dramatic action -- the stakes must be important
    what to do
      show don't tell
      interesting, unsympathetic characters
      consistency - make sure your characters stay in character, even with plot twists. Know your main character well.
        make a profile for each character
    Your character's drive for their goal must overcome the obstacles; there must be an unwillingness to compromise. What is the worst thing that happens to your character?
      where to get ideas
        be a voracious reader
        what happens next/what if
        base a story on a favorite character
        take a scene experienced in your life, change it in a dramatic way
        start with something you do know and uniquely change it
        get ideas from a song
        get ideas from news events
        from dreams
        from overheard conversations
        when driving or showering
        random word generators
        story generator apps
        try a different genre or voice
        make a list of everything that has tweaked my imagination, put them on index cards and group to see what matches
    Focus on elements that drive the visceral reaction:
      Interest, curiosity (what happens next), anticipation, suspense, tension, surprise
    Write what excites you (not necessarily what you know)
    Use an interesting inciting event
    Invert a predictable plot
    Add or emphasize a time element to heighten tension
  Themes
    Should be something you are passionate or emotionally indignant about
    Frame it as a question, not a statement
    Wrap the idea around an emotion
    Let each character reveal a facet of your overall theme(s)
  Compelling characters
    Overview
      You need to connect emotionally with your characters
      What does your character desire? He/she must want something
        they must want it bad
        reader needs to want it for them too
      Why does your character want it? (motivation)
      What are the stakes if the character fails to obtain his/her desire?
      How does the character change?
      character must show the reader something about themselves
        you see a connection between the character and yourself
        characters have admirable traits
      make the character mysterious, with hidden depth
      all characters have quirks that make them unique (but that the reader can identify with) - endearing traits
      best characters are flawed (have a moral compass but flawed)
        character motivations are what they are
        methods used by hero might be on the grey line
        independent
        reluctant hero
      compelling villains need to be a little sympathetic to be realistic
        no villain should think they are the villain
    Four types of protagonists
      hero
      average joe
      underdog
      lost soul or anti-hero (morally defective)
    Four types of protagonists (another view)
      admirable (positive characteristics)
      relatable (so your readers can identify with them)
      realistic - stay consistency with their personalities
      problem solver - the character has a truly challenging problem but the readers believe the character can solve it
    Primary traits
      These are 4-5 dominant traits that define your main character and that will exist throughout the novel.
      You can then place your character in situations to challenge those traits.
    Traits to add complexity
      These are traits that add depth to the primary traits without contradicting them.
    Traits to contrast with primary traits
      These are the 1-2 traits that can make your character move away from the path of their primary traits.
      These are humanizing traits that add vulnerability to your character
    The craft of revealing characters
      why and how
        We need to create events to enable the reader to experience emotions through the character's actions and dialogue.
        One tool: "The two-column trick"
          column 1: what I know about the character
          column 2: how do I show this in a scene
      Ways to show things about your character
        Contrasting the character:
          with himself/herself
          with other characters
          with the environment he/she interacts with
        Show how others talk about the character
        Show the relationships that others have with the character
        Dialogue, actions, reactions
        Choices in dilemmas
      Instant character appeal
        Do we feel sorry for the character?
          undeserved mistreatment; injustice
          bad luck; misfortune
          handicaps; being trapped by their circumstance
          haunted by their past
          weakness/vulnerability
          betrayed or deceived
          not believed when they tell the truth
          have they been abandoned?
          are they lonely?
          what are their regrets?
        Do we admire their virtues?
        Do they have desirable qualities?
  Engaging stories and plots
    Overview
      Every dramatic story is, at its core, about a character who wants something and faces obstacles to obtain it
      Lillian Hellman said "Story is what the characters want to do. Plot is what the writer wants the characters to do."
      Story is the art; plot is the craft (how you tell the story).
      Story comes from concept, theme, premise and character development.
      Plot is how to make the story emotionally satisfying to the reader.
      Plot needs to follow a set of clear cause and effect/stimulus and response that progresses to the climax.
    How to keep reader interest?
      Revealing depths of your developing and unique character
      Conflict (desire vs. obstacle with an outcome aggravated by an unwillingness to compromise); don't repeat the same conflicts. Obstacles must be painful, difficult, agonizing.
      Change must occur: discoveries and decisions create emotions.
      Original/fresh viewpoints
      Subtext allow hinting at the conflicts in the scene without directly engaging them. This creates an active reading experience.
      Compelling and unique backstory of characters or situationsthat provide context to the reader.
      Set up story questions (central to the novel, within each act, within each scene, within each beat)
      Mystery depends on withholding information; intrigue depends on illicit activity and secrecy.
      Overlap mini goals and mini problems so that when one is solved, there is still another. There should be no "holes of disinterest."
      The plans and daydreams of characters set up expectations and anticipation, even if the plan is a secret one.
      The MacGuffin (as coined by Alfred Hitchcock): a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story.
        The MacGuffin doesn't matter in the end (e.g., the statue in North by Northwest). It frees you up.
        You don't have to explain it--it's just there
      Create the right mood (the "emotional climate" of your story or scene)
      Dramatic irony is achieved by revealing information to the reader that is not known by the characters; or by having the character know something the reader does not (until the information is revealed). It can also be created by misunderstandings between two characters or through deceptions.
      how do you keep the reader interest?
        kill off characters
        leave something hanging at the end of the chapter
        conflict in each chapter, conflict in each page, conflict in each paragraph
        ask a question (but don't answer it)
        avoid useless information? (but not in November)
        drop hints that something is looming (but too many)
        be subtle
  Gripping Scenes
    Why do we use a scene?
      to advance the plot through conflict
      to impact the reader emotionally (every scene should have emotional impact)
      to reveal character
    Every scene that you include in the story should be such that the novel could not stand without that scene--it should be essential to the story.
    Starting a Scene
      Bring your character(s) into the scene no later than the second paragraph
      Establish the purpose, goal or intention for the primary character in the scene (does their intention make sense to your plot?)
      Launch the action in the scene without explaining anything--go straight to the action
        Actions must be true to the characters
        Act first, think later (it's a reaction by the character to the action)
      You could use a judicious amount of narrative summary to begin the scene (do this when you need to save time/space in the scene, when you need to set up the action to follow, or when the character's thoughts or intentions can't be revealed in the action).
      Similarly, you could begin the scene with the setting, if you can tie it to set up or character intention/impact on the character
    Keep the reader's interest in the middle of the scene
      Increase the reader's interest by adding complications; raise the stakes and the peril.
      You can make a table
        Protagonist | Scene intention(s) | Complication | Result
      Withold something a character wants
        e.g., emotional withholding: elicits sympathy, empathy and concern for characters
        e.g., withholding information sets up a power struggle between the person with the info and the character needing it
      Put a character (or someone the character cares about) in danger
      Use an unexpected revelation
    End the scene well
      Zoom in
        Have characters summarize the scene (useful when the lot is complex, you have multiple main characters or if there is a mystery)
        Reveal something, particularly through dialogue; this focuses the reader on the character and builds suspense
        End on a cliffhanger (don't use this too often)
      Zoom out
        End on a visual description (this can be a palate cleanser, providing a gentle transition)
        End on a philosophical musing (works well if the story has a strong theme)
        End conclusively.
  Feelings / Motivation - Reaction Units
    Feelings are the reaction of the characters (and the reader) to something; things on their own aren't significant unless they mean something to someone.
    The story needs to be oriented to the reader (write it subjectively)
    Motivation - Reaction Unit = the smallest unit a writer has to work with
    Some motivating stimulus occurs and the character(s) react to it
      feeling
      reflex
      conscious action, speech and/or thought
    Character reactions need to be significant, active/motive, pertinent, characteristic of that character and reasonable/believable
    Every MRU can be broken down into smaller MRU's; how fine you go is a matter of pacing and focus
    MRU's put the action into scenes
    One way to write a MRU:
      write a sentence without your focal character
      write a sentence about your focal character (and their reaction)
    Make sure that every action by your character has a motivation preceding it (rules, of course, are made to be broken).
  Dialogue
    Use it to reveal character
    Reflect the speaker’s mood and emotions
    Reveal or hide speaker’s motivation
    Advance the action and carry information
    Foreshadow what is yet to come
    Focus on emotional impact
    Expand on the individuality of characters
    Use subtext
    Focus on true emotions and wounds
    Read widely and analyze the books and sections that move you
  Reference: http://tinyurl.com/emotional-response
    Creating Emotion in the Reader - written on January 30th, 2011 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill and last modified on February 8, 2011
    A Tale of Two Brothers: The Reader's Emotional Response to Henry James' Turn of the Screw - Laura Sockol
    Writing for the Emotions - By E. A. Hill ©2007
    3 Steps to Writing a Novel with Unforgettable Characters - Rita Kuehn
    Writing for Emotional Impact - book by Karl Iglesias
    also see the Powerpoint presentation
    The Motivation-Reaction Unit (MRU) - By Caroline Wigley, original idea derived from Dwight Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer
    6 Ways To Hack Into Your Emotions And Become Infinitely More Creative - A guest post by Ollin Morales of Courage 2 Create
    How to Weave a Story that Instantly Captivates Your Audience - Sean D'Souza
    Before you type THE END, creating emotional resonance with your final scenes by Karen Schravemade
    The Prosers - Creating emotional resonance by MaryAnn Pope
    Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld
  Welcome!
  Exercises
    Story exercise: To warm us up, brainstorm five story ideas that reflect some of the above elements
    Character exercise: In small groups or by yourself, create a character; then do the two column trick: come up with three compelling characteristics and brainstorm ways to show this
    what happens after cinderella and prince charming get married
      cinderella wants her own happiness
        having difficulty adjusting to her new lifestyle
        she wants to be a good princess and wife and mother
        she is actually running the kingdom
      prince charming isn't charming
        he's handsome but lazy
        sleeps around
      cinderella traded the evil stepmother for the evil mother-in-law
      they accidentally hired rumpilstilskin as a nanny
      their children are recruited by the 7 dwarves
      others are sabotaging cinderella
      is this a happy story (humorous and end well) or a tragedy?
        what do you want the theme to be? What do you want people to take away from the story?
        what would be the climax of this story?
        Could end up with a happily-ever-after or happy for now
      original fairy tale is violent (note)
    Scene Exercise
      Write a scene that evokes a strong emotional response in the reader. Bring the character into the scene no later than the second paragraph. Add a complication. End on a relevatory note. Ensure you have the logical flow of character reactions following motivating stimulus.