Featured book:

Maass, Donald, The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface, Writer’s Digest Books, 2016.

What this book meant to me as a writer:

Are you frustrated when you hear “show don’t tell,” “we want a visceral reaction,” and similar admonishments we writers give each other?

If you want a deeper look at techniques to reveal emotion, try Donald Maass’ book. You’ll find a discussion, examples of what a skilled writer can do, and exercises.

In my writing, I tend to assume readers know the emotional depths of my character’s experiences based on the action or the scene. This is a terrible assumption. Maass says, “Plot happens outside but the story happens inside. Readers won’t get the true story, though, unless you put it on the page.” Even knowing this, I struggle to let the character’s emotional tale rise to the surface.

Maass, a literary agent, provides a great resource. In answer to the question, “How can I get readers to go on emotional journeys of their own?” Maass points out, “They don’t so much read as respond. You are not the author of what readers feel, just the provocateur of those feelings.”

I especially appreciated the discussion of how to connect emotion to external happenings. As Maass’ perspective sank in, I remembered examples of authors preparing readers with emotional markers along a trail, and while I didn’t see the developments as markers when I read them, I realized their importance when I arrived at the moment of impact, the moment I felt something as a reader.

I envy writers who seem to channel emotional truths. If you’re like me and need a little help, you may find a new way to deepen your emotional craft in Maass’ book.

A closer look at the book:

I attended a workshop led by Donald Maass at a writer’s conference, an experience I recommend, if you get an opportunity. Or buy a copy of The Emotional Craft of Fiction. You’ll gain usable insight into your writing.

The first five chapters explore varied ways to convey emotion, including a wonderful discussion of the emotional midpoint and how to use it to reveal inner turmoil during the most critical moment in the character’s emotional arc.

The book includes contrasting chapters on “The Reader’s Emotional Journey” and “The Writer’s Emotional Journey.” Maass talks about his reaction as a reader. “What I want is to feel deeply as I read your work. I want to feel connected to you and your characters in the way I do to the most memorable classics and the most stunning new titles I’ll read this year.”

He quotes Hemingway: “Find what gave you the emotion; what the action was that gave you the excitement. Then write it down making it clear so the reader will see it too and have the same feeling as you had.”

Emotional response, Maass tells us, can be reached through inner, outer, and other modes. “Other mode is not a single technique or principal. It is a vast array of elements tuned like the instruments in an orchestra to create a soaring emotional effect. When all the instruments work together, they lift our hearts. They transport us to a realm of wonder. We are open.”