Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.

By Teralyn Rose
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

The Strongest Emotion You Can Evoke from Readers

Friday, February 24, 2012 16:18

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

A Writer’s Journey

I’m overly sensitive to books. Perhaps it’s because stories are my life, so they have a lot of meaning for me. This has caused me much grief.

I’ll have trouble falling asleep because of a book, and I’ll even wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it. I can get disturbed to the point of needing to read scriptures to make myself feel better, and I can get sad enough to ruin my whole day.

Seriously, it’s a problem.

Peony in Love, for example, gave me many sleepless nights. I had to know if the main character would survive long enough to be with the man she loved. Even though I could guess how things would play out, I ached for it to happen differently. When it didn’t, I was upset both physically and emotionally.

Later in the book, an army attacked a city and butchered 80,000 people. The author described it in graphic detail. It bothered me, of course, but not nearly as much as what was happening to Peony. Why did I care so much about one girl’s happiness and not about thousands of lives?

Granted, I’m attached to the main character and I don’t know every person in the city, but my reaction to the book was too strong for this to explain it. The difference is one situation gives me something the other doesn’t:

Hope.

In the city, the people were dead before I knew they existed. With Peony, I spent a hundred pages hoping things would turn out alright for her. Tragedy is terrible, but it has little effect because it’s a fact of life. Hope, on the other hand, is the strongest emotion you can make your readers feel.

The Lovely Bones is a very similar story about a ghost watching the lives of the people around her. However, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t get as consumed or upset by it as I did with Peony in Love. It’s odd because in Bones, a little girl is brutally raped and murdered, whereas in Peony, her fate is mostly her fault.

The difference is I knew what would happen to Susie in The Lovely Bones as soon as a strange man invited her into his fort. There was no hope for her. After her death she goes on a fascinating journey, but she’s mostly just seeing things happening around her. Peony, on the other hand, actively pursues her own happiness and influences the lives of the people around her. Readers hope for Peony throughout the novel; with Susie, the damage is done.

If you want readers to be gripped by your novel, give them something to hope for. Don’t make your characters perfectly at ease; then readers can’t invest any emotion in them. Don’t shower your character with tragedy to make the story intense; show the readers there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.

If a story has the potential to go one of two ways – the character could either lose everything or get all she ever wanted – hope will drive readers forward.

On A Writers Journey, aspiring novelist Teralyn Rose Pilgrim talks about the excitements and disappointments that go along with her budding career. Currently agents are looking at her historical fiction about Rome’s Vestal Virgins.
teralynpilgrimm.blogspot.com

Read more at A Writer’s Journey

Source:

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

Mushrooms are having a moment. One fabulous fungus in particular, lion’s mane, may help improve memory, depression and anxiety symptoms. They are also an excellent source of nutrients that show promise as a therapy for dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases. If you’re living with anxiety or depression, you may be curious about all the therapy options out there — including the natural ones.Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend has been formulated to utilize the potency of Lion’s mane but also include the benefits of four other Highly Beneficial Mushrooms. Synergistically, they work together to Build your health through improving cognitive function and immunity regardless of your age. Our Nootropic not only improves your Cognitive Function and Activates your Immune System, But it benefits growth of Essential Gut Flora, further enhancing your Vitality.

Our Formula includes:

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms which Increase Brain Power through nerve growth, lessen anxiety, reduce depression, and improve concentration. Its an excellent adaptogen, promotes sleep and improves immunity.

Shiitake Mushrooms which Fight cancer cells and infectious disease, boost the immune system, promotes brain function, and serves as a source of B vitamins.

Maitake Mushrooms which regulate blood sugar levels of diabetics, reduce hypertension and boosts the immune system.

Reishi Mushrooms which Fight inflammation, liver disease, fatigue, tumor growth and cancer. They Improve skin disorders and soothes digestive problems, stomach ulcers and leaky gut syndrome.

Chaga Mushrooms which have anti-aging effects, boost immune function, improve stamina and athletic performance, even act as a natural aphrodisiac, fighting diabetes and improving liver function.

Try Our Lion’s Mane WHOLE MIND Nootropic Blend 60 Capsules. Today Be 100% Satisfied Or Receive A Full Money Back Guarantee Order Yours Today By Following This Link.

Comments

Online:
Visits:	1,607,781,180
Stories:	8,162,874