Don't forget the HEART of your story!

It's heart month!

I LOVE February!

I LOVE love!

I LOVE hearts!

My love of this month quadrupled upon the birth of my daughter, Annabelle, who was born with only half of her heart in 2010. In 2011, we spent heart month in the hospital, praying for a NEW heart. In 2012, it in the hospital ER with RSV and being diagnosed with failure to thrive. In 2013.... well, we spent it at home, eating WAY too much chocolate as a way to celebrate her FIRST Valentine's day at home!

Through the last few years, I've learned something pretty big in my writing.

And it's about hearts too. (and no, not just because I write romance!)

It's the the value of WRITING FROM THE HEART!

The heart is the seat of our emotions in our culture today. (Wasn't it the bowels in Bible days or something??? SO SO thankful we use the heart...)

So when we say, "write from the heart" it means that we are digging deep in our souls and splattering that on the pages. In order for us to evoke strong emotion in our readers, we need to pull from strong emotions as we write.

A tepid book is just not very fun to read.

That emotion will vary upon the author, upon the genre, and upon the plot.

The emotion can be fear, happiness, sadness, joy, passion, anger, anxiety, uncertainty, the list goes on and on.

A GOOD book will hit several of these emotions. YOU as an author should experience several of these while you write!

Writing, good writing, is a soul-seeking, bloody process. Even though I write funny romance, I still have to dig deep in me, in my experiences, and put my heart on the pages. Some of the reviews of my first novel reflect that... such as this endorsement from one of my FAVORITE authors.

"Don’t let the light-hearted cover and title fool you. Krista Phillips’ spunky, rough-around-the-edges heroine may be “tickle me” funny, but her faith journey offers more than a cute read. There is depth here, made all the more satisfying served up with a generous side of romance." - Tamara Leigh, author of Restless in Carolina and Dreamspell

Use your life experiences, the emotions and deep feelings you've had, when you write. You don't have to "write" your experiences, but you write to evoke emotions. That emotion will be vastly different depending on what genre you write and your voice. But it should still be there.

Annabelle's first valentine's day...
my blue baby decked out in her red!
(And yes, we DID bring her swing to the hospital ICU for her!

The last few years have been difficult, I'll admit. My family has gone through more than I'd ever wish on anyone. Congenital heart defects are awful, and they kill. (Did you know heart defects kill more children a year than all childhood cancers combined??) Seeing your child laying in a crib, their heart beating in an open chest, is life-changing.

My hope is that God can use the things I felt, the things I LEARNED, helps someone else when they read my books.

My books aren't about "heart" defects.

But they are definitely about the heart.

Discussion: What life experiences have you had that shape how you write? How do you show your emotions on the page?

(Note: this is a slightly adapted/updated repost~~ so if it seems familiar, that's why! But I thought it an important reminder and a great time of the year to post it!)

Five Ways to Write from Your Heart

As writers, we need to meet the needs of readers.

Readers often do not know what they want to read, but are attracted by book covers, titles, back copy, and first chapters for their next book choice. Once the reader finishes the first chapter they then decide to continue reading the book or put it down.

What causes the reader to continue reading a book?

Assuming our books have passed the test of intriguing title, cover, back copy, and first chapter, the content will hold the success of the book in it's hands. Perhaps a reader didn't plan to choose your book, but a friend recommended it. The content will still have the power to keep the reader turning pages or bury the book in the someday-I'll-read-it pile. This content must be written from the author's heart. 

During 2012, I committed to reading one book for each Writer's Alley Post. I then used a point of excellence from the book to present my post. I thought it most fitting to start the New 2013 Year using the greatest book ever published as the example of how to write from your heart. 

God wrote one book for us, the Bible. He shows His heart through His words, guiding, teaching, warning, and etc, yet The Bible is not a textbook. It was written from God's heart.

1.  God considered the needs of His audience. If my personal needs are addressed in a book I will not only continue reading, but I will want to go back and reread. I will also want to tell my friends and even strangers about the book so they too can benefit from it.

2. God allowed no errors in His book. One of God's goal was/is to portray the Truth, expectations, directions, information, examples, and etc. To do so meant from page one to the last page all words were specifically chosen to express the exact meaning intended. As human writers, we will have to edit our books many times to work towards a product that conveys the intended meaning.  

God provided a proof to demonstrate which sections were to be contained in His book. Every book from the Old Testament is quoted somewhere in the New Testament. This proof verifies the words and content to be from God's heart to us. As a writer I need to provide proof from the beginning to the middle and to the end of the book's consistency. I need to make sure my character's eyes don't change color, their hair and height is correct, the setting does not change, etc. For example, if the living room is on the right in the beginning of the story, keep it there. This is not the editor's job. Readers need to not be pulled out of the story with inaccuracies.

3. God's Word contains passionate stories illustrating truths. Our books need to contain passionate stories. Passion comes from the heart. Each story must be filled with passion whether it is a war story or a southern romance. Passion stirs the soul, causes a reader to identify, compels him/her to change, and solicit others to participate.

4. God's writing is tight, telling only what is essential. I've often wondered what the rest of the story was for different parts of the Bible. One pastor said from the pulpit, "God could have said what happened next but that information would not have benefited us as the readers. He included only what we needed to know." God expects us to meditate on His Words to learn more. As writers we need to RUE, resist the urge to explain. Concisely and succinctly present a passionate story containing truths. Do not fill pages with introspection. Allow the reader to think about the story and draw their conclusions.

5.  God wrote what He knew. Of course God knows everything, but the point is writers need to write what they know. If a WIP requires a scene about something you don't know really well, research. I am not a medical person, yet medical issues crop up in my stories. Recently I asked my husband, who is a medical person, what a charge nurse would do if a belligerent drunk wondered into the emergency room and passed out. After writing the scene I confirmed with him my word choice. Don't guess. Readers will put down books written with suppositions that don't ring true.

How else does God's book teach us as writers?

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photos courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

This blog post is by Mary Vee

Mary has moved to Michigan with her husband, closer to her three college kids. She misses the mountains of Montana, but loves seeing family more often. She writes contemporary Christian fiction with a focus on the homeless population and loves to pen missionary and Bible adventure stories on her ministry blog, God Loves Kids.

Finalist Phoenix Rattler Writing Contest 2012 (winners announced 2013)
Semi finalist Clash of the Titans, Olympia Writing Contest 2012 (finalists announced 2013)
Finalist Christmas Tree Writing Contest 2012

Website www.maryvee.com Step into Someone Else's World
Ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids http://www.mimaryvee.blogspot.com