There are plenty of ways to go deep into the story you’re telling. Many people think going deep refers to deep point of view, which I covered in last week’s post. Today, I want to discuss ways to add richness to your storytelling by going deep in other ways.
One way is to use all five senses (smell, sight, taste, touch, and hearing). Yes, I know this is a basic rule. But think…in this digital age, when was the last time you put your phone away and just looked? Learn to be an observer of people and environments. People watch. What do you notice? What about your environment? What color of blue is the sky? How does the snow look when it falls slowly?
Take a scene you’re currently working on. Have you included what the character experiences? The purr of a sports car? The stickiness of a fast-food counter? Smells are sometimes overlooked, but I love these lines from Rudyard Kipling: “Smells are surer than sights or sounds/To make your heart-strings crack…”
Sometimes I’ll include the sixth sense, intuition (sparingly). You know that feeling of knowing when someone’s lying or when your hair rises on the back of your neck? This sense is great for creating tension.
I can imagine you’re thinking, “But I can’t write the story and include all of that at the same time—it’s too much!” You’re right, it is. So just write the story first. One of my favorite quotes is by Terry Pratchett: “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Spill everything onto the page. Don’t edit, don’t fuss about word choice. It doesn’t need to be pretty—you can add the five senses in the following drafts.
Something else you can include in the second draft (& third, and fourth, and fifth, and…) is descriptions. Metaphors and similes add to the mood of the story as well. Make use of them (again, sparingly) through the character’s eyes. For example, a high society woman wouldn’t say or think someone was “as happy as a pig in slop.” Stay true to your character so the reader can stay in the character’s skin.
Show, don’t tell, how someone feels. Telling is much weaker than showing.
Shari felt anger sweep over her. Instead: Shari clenched her shaking hands in
to fists.
Ron was ashamed. Instead: Ron blushed and turned away.
The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is a great resource to use. It matches actions to feelings to help you make the shift from telling to showing.
Enjoy going deep in your next story!
It’s a more intimate way of writing. The writer removes the narrator and settles into a comfy chair in the chosen character’s head. Although deep POV usually refers to third person, I’ve also found writing this way helpful in first person as well. It is limiting, though. You can’t know what the other characters are thinking because you’re firmly entrenched in your comfy chair. You can see reactions, but the other characters’ thoughts are hidden.
Avoid “distancing” words. She felt, noticed, realized, thought, looked at, etc. For example: Shari exited the shop. She noticed the dark sky. In seconds, she felt the heavy raindrops soak her clothes as she ran for her car. I’ll have to drive home carefully, she thought.
ome to #WritingWednesday. Last week we talked about a few ways to avoid boring writing. This week, I have a few more tips for you to keep your story interesting and your readers engaged!
4. “…and everyone lived happily ever after, forever and ever, with a big, red bow.” Hmm, maybe not. I NEED a happy ending. (I was very cross with Veronica Roth after reading the Divergent series. Just sayin’…) But that’s just me. You must decide how happy your ending’s going to be. Somewhat bittersweet? Tragic, like Romeo and Juliet? Or do we get the true HEA (Happily Ever After)? Even with an HEA, not every character is happy—not the villain and perhaps not some secondary characters. There may be unpleasant circumstances due to bad decisions. That’s okay. Just remember the expectations of your genre (romance readers expect an HEA or an HFN–Happy For Now). A spark of hope on the last page will satisfy your readers.
led land masses sketched on notebook paper. That worked for a while, but I eventually started erasing, adding, and revising the map. I then redrew it on grid paper (don’t know why I went with that, especially since I wasn’t really trying for scale). I finally scanned the thing into Paint but was dissatisfied with the “flatness” of it. After watching tons of YouTube videos, I drew my own version of it on nice blank paper. I was so pleased with how it turned out, I added a map in each book of the Firebrand Chronicles.
s (and as a bonus, one website) I’ve found invaluable while creating.
Also, if you’ve beta read or critiqued the Firebrand Chronicles, blogged or posted on social media, left a book review, gushed about them to a friend, or stopped me on the street to say you liked the book or asked about the next one–THANK YOU. Knowing my stories gave you the chance to escape to Linneah with Brenna and Baldwin for a few hours is a huge honor.
I’d originally had another post for today– something about plotting vs. pantsing and how’d I’d used both for the Firebrand Chronicles, blah, blah, blah. 🙂
ted.
Some might say it was my hard work paying off. While I’m certain hard work is part of it, it’s not ALL of it. Lots of writers work hard–we have to because the market is super-competitive. Part of it is about surrender, loosening a grip on a dream so Someone can shift it, manipulate it into something better. And part of it is also listening to that voice that tells you, this is what you’re put on earth to do, this is why you’re here.
moving forward, still as much in love with writing as ever before. My next project (a Snow White retelling) is already “finished” although the plot holes need to be plugged. 🙂 For right now, I’ll let it simmer and enjoy Burn‘s release-day celebration!!!
Spark, (Book one of The Firebrand Chronicles) is about Brenna James, who’s just a normal ADHD teen. You know, going to school, hanging out with friends, shooting fire from her bare hands…um, what? When her mother disappears, Brenna will do anything to find her. Even travel through a portal. But life on the other side involves intimidating griffins, cryptic prophecies, and elusive enemies. With the help of her new friend Baldwin, she must choose wisely whom to trust or lose everything.
