Featured: Character Interview on Red Lettering (Also, Character Chat w/Luke Vetti)

Picture by Athelas Hale

Hi everyone! Last week, I was graciously invited by fellow writer and blogger Athelas Hale of the lovely blog Red Lettering to do a character interview on her blog. She featured a well-known favorite of the followers, Lukas Vetti, and asked him some pretty intense questions. Go to her blog and check it out to see the full post!

Thanks again, Athelas, for interviewing Luke! I'm sure he enjoyed it. I think...probably yes. :)

Also, as promised in the title, I am hosting a character chat with the famed Luke Vetti in the comments! Just ask a question or whatever in the comments, and he will answer back right to ya. Go crazy, and have fun everyone!

Love ya, my peoples!

Wrandom Writing Tip #9: Emotional Resonance–How to make your book matter

When you've lost interest in writing your novel, there are a few things that could be wrong. You could just have writer's block. Maybe your book needs to be planned out. But most of the time, we writers get bored and uninterested in our writing because it lacks the emotional punch that keeps us interested.

When was the last time you read a book, watched a movie, or finished a TV show? Do you remember the scene that really got you interested? The puncher that made you physically ill because of the complete horribleness of it? Do you remember what you felt?

Felt. That is the key word. I bet the scene you liked best wasn't the one where Prince Charming was handling a machine gun and mowing down flying monkeys. *SPOILERS OUAT* I bet it was the one where Rumpelstiltskin was put in Pandora's box, after trying so hard to be good and get his family back together. For me, it was the scene where Henry was in Peter Pan's body. With my deluded view of Peter Pan, where he was still just a boy who missed his parents like in the real world, it hurt totes bad to see him hugging everyone like he belonged somewhere. *END SPOILERS* I'm sorry I didn't mean for this to turn into a psychotic discussion on what Peter Pan could have been in Once Upon a Time.

The point is, the scenes that matter the most to us are the ones where emotions are raging, tension is high, and the loss is huge. They make us cry, think, love, and scream in rage, and that's what readers (secretly) want out of books, movies, and TV shows.

Now that doesn't mean go and kill off the people everyone loves (though that does cause pain to readers). Unless you have a good reason to, killing people isn't the only answer. There are plenty of other ways to create emotion in your novel, but loss is one of the biggest and most important.

Feelings of loss can be created in many, many ways. Take something away from the hero, kill off a friend, *SPOILERS OUAT* curse Storybrooke to be cast back to the enchanted forest without Emma and Henry...the list goes on. *END SPOILERS* Loss and loneliness are two of the most powerful emotional tools; everyone–and I mean everyone–has felt these emotions, so readers can relate.

Don't underestimate the power of emotional resonance. Sure, the Evil Queen ripping hearts out is interesting and all, but it only really matters if she's ripping the heart of her loving father out. Get what I mean? Creating emotion in each scene is a great way to start bringing the magic back to your novel.

Now go destroy some orphans and kill someones parents. ;)

Write from the Soul

Too many writers in today's market write for just that—the market. When wizards and magic were the hype back in the Harry Potter days, everyone wrote fantasy books. In the dark days of Twilight, it was all werewolves and vampires (I can still go to the YA section of my library and find nothing but werewolf and vampire books. That was a BIG fad.). Now, the new thing is post-apocalypse and dystopian genres, and I can't even count how many movies and books are following suit. (Think Hunger Games, Divergent, Walking Dead, Falling Skies, Godzilla...). And the rumors are true—if you write for the market, your work has a huge chance of getting published.

BUT, your work will be the forced product of something you may have no interest in.

While it's tempting to write for the market to have a better chance at getting published, writing for the market is just not the answer. The market changes; by the time you finish your vampire novel, pop culture could change to pirates. There's no point in it.

Don't write for the market. Write for you. Write what you want to read, and you'll enjoy it so much more than writing for other people. Sure, keep in mind your audience and readers, but you're the writer, not them. You make the ultimate decision. You're writing the book.

If you're not interested in vampires and werewolves, don't try to write a vampire book. If you're not interested in post-apocalyptic or dystopian genres, don't worry. The market will change, so there's no point in freaking out about publishing your book. Just keep trying.

Don't get caught up in the "write for the market, you'll get published" fad. Write from the soul, write what you want, write until you bleed words, write until you find what you want to say. Then, say it.