Thursday, July 19, 2012

Life Lessons—Emotionally Involved


Guest post by Reba Hoffman

As writers, you spend a whole lot of time creating characters and walking with them through all sorts of trials. The same thing that makes a compelling story for the reader can cause all sorts of challenges for you the writer. Why? Because you are emotionally involved.

The more time you spend with your characters, the more of yourself you have invested in them. And, because you experience their tragedies with them, your emotions can be affected.

It’s a great thing—even necessary—that you are so connected with those you create and write about. It’s what makes you a great writer. But, it also places you in a place of emotional vulnerability. Here’s how it may show up.

Feeling blue or even depressed after writing a negative emotional scene. You may react just like if your best friend suffered the same scenario as your characters. Remind yourself it’s only fiction.

Feeling fear if your character is being stalked or if they are attacked. Prove to yourself you are safe by walking around your environment that is free from those who would want to harm you.

Feeling abandoned by your characters when you write “The End”. As crazy as it sounds, just as readers feel a sense of loss at the end of a really good book, so can the author. The best way to overcome this is to immediately start developing your next book.

These and other emotions are common to writers. If you’re not expecting them, they can sideline you. But if you understand what’s happening, you can combat them. You’ll be able to write a compelling story with amazing characters without suffering emotional fallout yourself.

The deep emotions that you experience are just one of the incredible gifts you have that will make your character resonate. And your readers will throw down the greenbacks to purchase your books. Due care with your own emotions will keep you healthy and writing for years to come.

Have you ever felt gripped by emotions while writing? Why not share it here?



Reba J. Hoffman is the founder and president of Magellan Life Coaching (www.magellanlifecoaching.com).  She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Counseling and is a natural encourager. She serves as Member Care Coach for My Book Therapy and is the author of Dare to Dream, A Writer’s Journal. You can connect with Reba through her motivational blog, Finding True North, or by email at reba@magellanlifecoaching.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @RebaJHoffman.

14 comments:

  1. Great post, Reba! It so awesome when characters become so real you worry about the bad decision they're about to make.

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  2. I still choke up every time I read my scene of Bitsy facing her daddy after she'd been caught lying. It's especially embarrassing when I read the excerpt while teaching a class. :-(

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    1. Oh Vonda, sounds like you really, really love your characters.

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  3. I'm in the process of completely a manuscript on domestic violence. Included is the story of my best friend, Jennifer Blagg, and how she and her six-year-old daughter were murdered by her husband. It's been a rough, ragged writing road with this one.

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    1. Oh Edie, I can imagine that is very rough. I too did a story based on the testimony of a friend of mine. His mother was mentally ill and would beat him in the name of God. He's fine now but man it hurts to know what he went through. I had no clue when we were kids what went on behind closed doors.

      "Lord Father God, I pray You comfort Edie as she shares this important story. In Your name I pray, amen."

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    2. Lisa, thank you so much! Blessings, E

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  4. I'm not sure if this is the same idea, but what about having trouble making a character evil, because you know that they are going to do or say horrible things? That's what I'm struggling with in making my characters real and emotional. I haven't had to hurt anyone yet, but I'm about to...
    Great post! Thanks for sharing. I'd never thought of this.

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    1. Wow, Alycia. You sure don't want that evil character in the lives of those characters you love.

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  5. That is so true and sometimes I wonder why I'm sad, happy, crazy, etc. Oh yeah, it's cause my MC was sad, happy, crazy...

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    1. Lori most writers don't know why that's happening unless someone warns them. That's why I was so drawn to writing this post. I have so many people who think they should be happy because they are making such great word count progress on their book but they are down in the dumps.

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  6. I love your post, Reba! Yes, I've definitely mirrored the emotions of my characters at times. Or, I remember one time I was feeling a certain way and suddenly realized I was projecting my mood onto my character. :)

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    1. That's truly an occupational hazard for writers. I'm so glad you've identified that MTAGG.

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  7. Probably my biggest problem is writing the bad stuff: evil and suffering.

    Sometimes I cry when rereading an emotional scene but never put two and two together, that perhaps something I was working on was dragging me down with it.

    Thanks for the heads up (and the silent nudge to brave the dark side).

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