Slow Your Story to Move Readers Emotionally

Edie here and I am beyond excited (and having a little fan-girl moment). Today I'm thrilled to share a guest post from one of my publishing heroes, C.S. Lakin. I've been a fan of hers for years and cut my writing teeth on her site, Live, Write, Thrive. This year she was part of the faculty at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and I got to meet her in person. She's also launching a new online video class, Emotional Mastery for Fiction Writers. Today she's sharing her expertise with us. So please give her a warm TWC welcome (and sign up for her class!!!)

Slow Your Story to Move Readers Emotionally
by C.S. Lakin @CSLakin

We writers need to face this truth. Our #1 objective when writing fiction is to evoke a response from readers. Readers read to react. If our scenes don’t move our readers at all, we fail as writers. That’s a sobering fact.

Perspective Changes Everything—Tips for Writing Description based on Character

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

Writers use words to paint pictures. Unlike screenwriters and the cadre of directors, set and costume designers, and cinematographers who use an entirely different set of tools, we writers have to describe the windy hillside, the absolute cold of space, the golden plains of grain. But it’s not quite that easy. We also have to tell the story through our characters and their feelings. 

Tips for Fiction Writers: Which Character Has the Most to Lose?

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Rewrite your chapter from the viewpoint of another character.

The assignment was a consumer of valuable time but that’s what my mentor required.

Enrolled in a mentorship program, each fresh chapter of my novel went to award-winning author, DiAnn Mills, who helped improve my skills.

I opened a fresh Word file on my laptop, MacBeth, pulled the weakest chapter from the work in progress and pasted it there. Then I went about getting through this requirement so I could move onto the next – hopefully more important—step. 

Fiction Writing From A to Z

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Reminders about our craft burst our imaginations into creative mode. From A to Z, we find sources of inspiration to keep us writing. I’ve chosen the first word that entered my mind as a means to keep my imagination in full gear.

The Triangle Structure for Writers, Part 2

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

We’re working on the Triangle of Structure, to understand how even a three-point structure can make the difference between a good book and a great book.

If you missed it, here's part one of The Triangle Structure for Writers.

When Writing Love Scenes—the Eyes Have It

by Emme Gannon @GannonEmme

Ah, February. Somewhere between January’s frigid days and March’s warming trend, nature stirs from her winter rest, and our hearts turn to love. Store windows lure us in with dangling red hearts. Men of all ages line up at grocery store check-outs waiting to purchase a bouquet of flowers. The pull of love is so irresistible that it has the power to compel a level-headed person to step out of the ordinary into it’s charming embrace.

Just how does a writer describe this phenomenon called love?  I contend, it has to start with the eyes.