Tuesday's Writer's Tip Talking about Feelings #MFRWAuthor #BWLAuthor #Dwight V Swain #Techniques #Writing

Another quote from Dwight V. Swain's Techniques of the Selling Author. "A story is a succession of motivations and reactions."

Emotions or feelings are what you need in your stories to pull the reader from page one to the end. There is a need to build this from the first word you write. What you need to know is how to build these feelings to make a story. Some writers have this ability as a natural thing but others have to learn the steps.

The first step is about events that happen in the story and how to see if they are good or bad. Take a car accident. Generally thought of as bad but if this brings people together this can be considered good.

You need to look at all aspects of this event and tailor it to the story you are taking. This must be done in a specific way, not in a general way. This must mean something to the characters in your story. How they react is valuable.

Taking your major characters and how they emotionally react to a situation. Mary may go instantly into tears. Joe may react with anger. Brad may just blow it off. Laura might try to analyze what is happening. The way your characters react to a situation is based on things like their background, their growing up, their experiences. So knowing your character is one way to make sure their reactions work for them.

Susan hates to become angry. She always cries. When developing her character, you need to be aware of this and use her typical reaction to the best of your ability.

The decision is yours so carefully examine every facet of the event.