Writing Imagery

Now-a-days, readers want excellent writing, but it needs to be straightforward. This makes it all the more important to place your metaphors and similes in appropriate places throughout your novel. If you have one metaphor after a simile after another metaphor...then you will slow down the reader and your story will sag with the weight of a word picture frenzy in the reader's overloaded mind.

Using well-placed metaphors and similes can 1) Anchor the reader to the setting and have them  connect to your character's situation, and 2) Emphasize high emotional intensity, as implied by James Scott Bell in his book, Revision & Self Editing.

Just as a poem begs to be memorized, a metaphor or simile create a memorable experience for the reader, and etches your story into their mind. I can think back on certain books and remember their well-placed metaphors and similes out of the entire 90,000 words. These tools grip a reader's thoughts and leave a “book”print in their mind long after the book is closed and put away.

Here are some examples from books that have printed on my mind:

Anchoring to the setting:

"If Broadway was Manhattan's artery, Five Points was its abscess: swollen with people, infected with pestilence, inflamed with vice and crime. Groggeries, brothels, and dance halls put private sin on public display. Although the neighborhood seemed fairly self-contained, more fortunate New Yorkers were terrified of Five Points erupting, spreading its contagion to the rest of them.” Wedded to War, Jocelyn Green.

Jocelyn uses the metaphor of the condition of the human body to not only emphasize the point of view of her heroine, an aspiring nurse, but she also gives such a vivid understanding of the setting that a reader could hardly dismiss this and move on without allowing the imagery to paint itself in their mind.

“Through the makeshift curtain that gave her some semblance of privacy, she could make out Captain Click's sturdy shadow like a locked gate barring harm's way.” Courting Morrow Little, Laura Frantz

This book is set in a time of unease and discord between the settlers and the Native Americans. This metaphor of Captain Click being a locked gate is appropriate to the point-of-view of the heroine who is a young woman traveling into hostile territory. This anchors the reader to the setting not only through the heroine's perspective, but gives the overall emotional climate of the setting—one of possible danger at every turn.

Emotional Intensity:

“The man who stared back was not a man he knew. The careful control bred into him since birth was gone. In its place he saw a fire-breathing dragon capable of murder.” The Duchess and The Dragon, Jamie Carie

The image of a fire-breathing dragon is placed at a time when the hero's emotions are high and his actions have culminated to a dreaded circumstance. Jamie Carie imbeds this metaphor in such a way that it maintains the momentum of the story but shows intensity of the hero's emotion.

“In the domestic cloud of dust and family, I too can forget the One who sees me, but in eucharisteo, I remember, I cup hands and all the world is water.

The well, it is still there.

There is always a well—All is well.

I choke out my son's name. His skin is transparent...glass. And he stares long, brims...quavers...falls. And I cradle him, the Boy-Man, flood over shoulders.” One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp.

Ann's moment with her son is filled with word pictures that emphasize the build to an emotional outpour. This book takes the use of metaphor to such a deep level, my heart stirs at every turn of the page.

Metaphors and similes can also unveil a writer's voice. Ann Voskamp does this amazingly well, not only in the example above, but consistently throughout the book. Depending on a writer's voice, these descriptive tools can be well-placed mirrors to the under-lying tone of the story.

Do you have examples of well-placed metaphors and similes in some of your favorite books? How about in your own? Please share!


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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

 

Please, Mind The Gap (In Your Manuscripts, of course!)

For our British readers out there, I must say that one phrase which has stuck with me during the years after my visits to London, is “Please, mind the gap.” For those who don't know what I'm talking about, it is a very literal warning announced in London's underground train system. There is usually a gap between the platform and the train, and you must mind it or else trip up, or slip a leg through the gap.

Oddly enough, the recording that plays repetitively in the tunnels, rang loud in my memory as I went through and polished my recent manuscript.

“Please mind the gap,” the women's British accent pronounced the words as I came upon my own wordy gaps. (Yet another reason polishing is so necessary before the big send off.)

Mind these gaps as you polish, to avoid your reader tripping into the pit of unbelievability:

Physical gaps: These are easy fixes...usually just adding a sentence to bridge the gap. Say your character is sitting in a chair having a conversation. As the dialogue heats up, she suddenly slams the door and rushes down the hall. When did she get up from her chair? Look out for these...even though they are simple, they can contribute to confusion and frustration on the reader's part.


Emotional gaps: This gets a little more tricky. My example is: My heroine lashes out at someone out of jealousy, and although she thinks her way through to resolve, the next encounter with that person (who witnessed the jealous outburst) must address her past behavior in some way, and then SHOW that she has now replaced it with a different emotion (say contentment). This can be done using dialogue and action tags. Basically, you can't just depend on deep pov in one character, to smooth over a bump in her relationship with another character. It must be shown.


Plot gaps: Have you ever read a book where the hero and heroine despise each other and then suddenly they can't take their eyes off each other? Hopefully if you have, there were some plot elements that developed that attraction. One of my biggest pet peeves in Hollywood, is when a movie doesn't fill in the plot gaps, and suddenly the character arc is more like a character pole vault. Plot must work TOWARD character development, if your characters take off and leave plot behind, then you'll have a lot of gaps to fill.

Can you think of any other gaps in the writing process? Would you be willing to give a concrete example from your own wip?

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous, mothering days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across historical cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Memorable Characters - The Basics

Over the next few months, I’m going to tackle the heart of good fiction. Characters! Now, I know a lot of you plot-driven writers might disagree, but most of our best fiction is memorable because of the characters who make up the stories.

1.       Lizzie Bennet

2.       Scarlet O’Hara

3.       Atticus Finch

To name a few – are memorable because  of some basic components.

In the coming weeks I’ll go over 9 different traits for compelling characters. Some of the tips will come from Michael Hauge, some I gathered from James Scott Bell, and a few I tagged on myself. But let’s start with an overview of what GOOD characters do for us.

They cause us to C.A.R.E.

In one way or other, we are impacted by them. That's why we remember them. How do well-developed characters do this?

1.       Conflict – Good characters have conflict – and cause conflict in the reader. I can’t recall one character who didn’t have to deal with some sort of conflict to make it to the end of the story. Probably because those types of characters are not memorable. “Nothing” happens to them – therefore “nothing” happens to the reader.

      When a character can cause the reader to feel conflict – then we remember them, good or bad. They do something we don’t expect. They respond in a way that is conflicting to our natures. They cause us to see the world from a different perspective or strengthen our own resolve and choices. Something to leave a mark on our minds as we read– and so we are more likely to remember them.

2.       Arc – This is very important. Memorable characters have an Arc. What does that mean? All great characters grow. Michael Hauge refers to this as a character moving from his identity to his essence. I’ll talk more about this next time, but it basically means that a character goes from not really knowing who they are (showing a certain ‘identity’ to the world) to realizing/accepting their essence (who they are at their core). It's usually part of the internal goal for your character. I can’t wait to talk about how the romantic relationship touches on this element of character development.

3.       Relate – At some point, great characters are relatable. I’m not saying you will have a super power or have to time travel to the Civil War, but what the character cares about, their struggle, their goal, their dreams, their life – will somehow be relatable to the reader. We may not live in Regency England, like Lizzie Bennet, but we can relate to her because she wants a love that is more than what her parents, or even society, expects. I can't travel to Middle Earth, but the strength of friendship, and desire to serve others through sacrifice, makes Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee memorable. We can relate to those things...with or without hairy feet :-)

      Btw, even bad-guys need to have these traits. The BEST bad guys give us a way to relate to them (which causes conflict in us and emotion). They may not have an arc, but they usually have the other three components.

4.       Emotion – Much like conflict, great characters cause us to experience emotions. We read fiction because we want to experience what the characters are experiencing . We want to fall in love as they do, laugh as they do, embark on an adventure, solve a crime, hyperspeed to another galaxy, fight dragons, or destroy the one ring….like the characters. But the journey is remarkable because of the emotions we experience through the characters along the way - and because of those emotions, we remember the characters.

How do you make your readers CARE about your characters? Do you have conflict? Is there a clear arc? Are your characters relatable in some way and do they evoke emotions in your readers? Those are the starting points for developing strong characters.

Next time, I’ll go into a little more detail about ARC and then we’ll begin going through the 9 Character traits for memorable heroes/heroines.

As a teaser, here they are:

C - Complex

H – Heroic/Courageous/Hopeful

A – Able/Adept/Resourceful

R – Raw Wound

A – A bit unpredictable within their predictability

C – Craving/Ache/Yearning

T – True/Noble/Honorable

E – Emotion/Passion/Purpose

R- Redeemable (even if only a little)
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Pepper Basham writes romance peppered with grace and humor. She’s a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mom of five, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate. She writes a variety of genres, but enjoys sprinkling her native culture of Appalachia in them all.  She currently resides in Johnson City, TN where she works as a university instructor, searches for unique hats to impress her friends, and plots new ways to annoy her wonderful AlleyCat friends. You can find her on her personal blog, Words Seasoned With Salt¸ or at her group writing blog, The Writers Alley. She is extremely blessed to be represented by 2012 ACFW Agent of the Year, Nicole Resciniti.
 

The First-Rate Characters of Secondhand Lions

Quirky...lovable...loathable...three-dimensional...complex...dynamic.

What does it take to create the kind of characters readers will remember long after they put your book down?  Pop some popcorn, put on those fuzzy bunny slippers, grab a cup of tea...we're headed to the movies once again.

When it comes to quirky, three-dimensional characters Secondhand Lions is one of my favorite flicks.

Dialogue speaks volumes about our characters and this movie provides some excellent examples.  Meet Mae.  In the unbearable Texas heat, Mae drops off her son with his great uncles.  Uncle Hub and Uncle Garth are sought after by relatives and salespeople alike who are anxious to stake claim on their fortune...and Mae is no exception.  As she drops off her son for the summer, she asks him to look for the "buried treasure."

Her parting lines to Walter include:

"You're gonna have to work on that smile while I'm gone, OK?"

Mae isn't exactly lovable.  She talks down to her son.  Lies to him repeatedly throughout the movie.  She is more concerned about getting and keeping her latest boyfriend, no matter how he treats her or Walter.  Not only do we immediately dislike Mae, we don't respect her either.

Walter is the protagonist.  We see him in the beginning as an adult, creating a popular comic strip.  He takes a phone call and suddenly the viewer finds herself riding in the backseat as Mae drives Walter to an old rickety house and two strange uncles who will change Walter's life.

Walter is the "sadder but wiser" character, even in his eleventh year. 

"I'm an only child mom, I know what uncles are."  Walter is a shy but witty child.

Meet the uncles.  Great Uncle Hub and Great Uncle Garth live in a worn-down old farmhouse in Texas.  Two eccentric brothers who live alone.  Instead of following the stereotype of old men seated by the television set with a cold drink...they spend their days on the porch "sporting" by shooting at traveling salesmen.

Uncle Hub and Uncle Garth quickly introduce themselves in this bedtime interchange.

Hub: Hey kid, you sleep up there in the tower.

Garth: Hey, we don't know nothing about kids.  So if you need something--

Hub: Find it yourself...or better yet learn to do without.

Garth: We're both getting old.

Hub: Fixing to die anytime.  So if we kick off in the middle of the night, you're on your own.

So Walter's first impression of the gruff, rich uncles is less than stellar.

A dusty house with strange relatives.  No wonder Walter has trouble sleeping...and comes across Uncle Hub sword fighting an imaginary opponent in the backyard...with a plunger.

Suddenly Uncle Hub takes on a whole new dimension. 

When a distraught Walter runs away to the gas station to call his mother...he finds out she has once again lied to him.  He has no idea where his mom is. 

Uncle Garth shows his softer side when the brothers find Walter.

"He sure annoys the relatives. If you stay for a while, our relatives are going to hate it..."

He gives Walter a motive to return with them and convinces Walter he's helping Garth and Hub in the process.

Uncle Garth and Uncle Hub are anything but one-dimensional. 

Uncle Garth's stories bring a sense of adventure and courage which Walter carries with him into adulthood.  He is a mentor or guide, perhaps he is the reason Walter wrote comic strips in his later years.

These stories also allow Walter to dream of a more exciting reality in the midst of his harsh childhood.  Stories also provide a way of understanding what it means to be a hero...and what it means to step up to the call of manhood.

There are many scenes where "mystery" is kept, the uncles are cranky...yet wise and loving.

Secondhand Lions is a movie I will return to again and again...a great model of how to create first-rate characters in our own novels.

Have movie characters "helped" you in the creation of your own characters?

Self-Editing Checklist: Show and Tell (plus a giveaway!)

No, we're not talking about that period in elementary school when Freckle-Faced Freddy brought his ant farm and let the little buggers loose.

But this topic can be just as problematic for a writer, can't it?

Point #6 in my self-editing checklist is all about Show and Tell. (For the previous five posts, click here.)

When analyzing your scenes for Show and Tell, here are a couple key points to watch out for:

a) Are you naming your characters' emotions? What sort of picture does this sentence evoke? "She gave me a scared look." Pretty vague, right? How about this..."A sheen of sweat sparkled above her lip and her eyes bulged." Gives a much clearer picture. If you see emotion words like "scared", "happy", "worried", "angry", etc., carve them out and show them through action and dialogue instead.

b) Are you relying on narrative summary rather than showing the scene as it plays out? Take note that sometimes narrative summary is okay, but in most cases, you want your book to contain scenes filled with movement and action (and action doesn't necessarily have to be shoot-em-up duke-it-out type of stuff).

Here's an example of narrative summary used in the wrong way, glossing over a key moment that should be shown instead.

Her long-lost son opened a folder and asked about her three names. She struggled through memories of her childhood and started to explain.

Here's the actual excerpt from Patti Lacy's powerful book The Rhythm of Secrets, which shows the main character's emotions beautifully.

"Thanks for meeting me." The folder flopped open. A sheet of paper was removed. "If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you."

His inscrutable expression muted her soul's music. She eyed the folder warily.

The paper shook as he shoved it close. "According to...my sources, you are both Sheila Franklin and Sylvia Allen." His shoulders grazed the leather booth when he leaned back. Ice glazed his eyes. "If that's true, then who is Sheba Alexander?"

The question tore open a lockbox of memories. A blazing fire. A one-armed prostitute. Maman. Papa. A thirteen-year-old girl who thought she could conquer the world, thanks to her parents' gift of that name she'd had to abandon. A name she just might have to reclaim...

"Sheba Alexander was..." Words fought to escape her cottony mouth. "...a silly girl." A very foolish teenager. She swallowed hard. How could she explain things to a man she'd just met, even if he were her son?

Gripping, right? This is a big-time moment in the novel, and Patti didn't hold back at all. She showed the emotions of both characters through action and dialogue, sweeping the reader away in the story.

Your homework for the next two weeks, should you choose to accept it: Search through your scenes for naming of emotions and work on ways to portray those emotions through action and dialogue. Look for large chunks of narrative summary and determine whether they should be shown in greater detail or even added as extra scenes. If they're irrelevant to the story or keep it from moving forward, don't be afraid to cut them.

Bonus giveaway this week! Patti Lacy has graciously offered a copy of The Rhythm of Secrets for one lucky commenter! We'll announce the winner in our weekend edition.

What's been your biggest challenge in the show-and-tell game of writing? What's the most valuable resource you've used in learning how to show rather than tell?

*Ants photo by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Self-Editing Checklist: Consistency (Plus a Dynamite Giveaway!)

No, I'm not giving away dynamite...That might get me arrested. But I am offering a fabulous giveaway for people who want to propel their writing to a dynamite level. Curious? Keep reading. :)

Remember that self-editing checklist I've talked about in my previous posts? We're moving on to Point #3 this week. I call this one Consistency. (For points 1 & 2, click here.)

Under consistency, consider the following items for each of your scenes.

a) Have you left any dangling subplots or story lines? If so, is it intentional or do you need to fill in the gaps? In my last post, you may have gathered that I'm a spreadsheet nerd. So how do you suppose I track my subplots? That's right...in a spreadsheet. :) Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, I highly recommend you keep track of your scenes somehow, whether it's in Excel or on index cards.

In Excel, I create a column called Plot/Subplots. In my latest book, I have the primary plot of the romance between my main characters Brogan and Ivy, but I also have subplots of Ivy's troubled relationship with her dad, her struggle to get out of debt, and her job for her ex-boyfriend, to name a few. Next to each scene, I indicate which plot/subplots are addressed. It's not foolproof, but it does help me recognize if I've ignored the debt subplot for 20 straight chapters.

Resources: Camy Tang talks about subplot threads in this Story Sensei post.

b) Does the character's emotional or spiritual arc flow? Does your character hate her father in one scene and then give him a big old hug in the next? If so, there'd better be a reason. Jerking the reader up and down with willy-nilly character emotions will just unsettle them. Make sure the emotional arc picks up where it left off in the previous scene and move it forward from there.

Resources: For a quick hit on emotional arcs, check out this article. If you want to take your character's emotional arc (and your writing) to the next level, I highly recommend Margie Lawson's AMAZING course, Empowering Character Emotions. In case you didn't sign up after Casey's post last week, you can buy Margie's lecture packets (over 280 pages!) for only $22. It's seriously the steal of the century when you consider the AMAZING (yes, I used that word twice in one paragraph) things you'll learn.

Your homework for the next two weeks, should you choose to accept it: Read the articles I've referenced. And if you're ready to learn like crazy, buy Margie Lawson's lecture packet and gobble it up like your Thanksgiving turkey. Then analyze your scenes for consistency.

But wait! (Do you feel like you're watching an infomercial yet?) Remember that dynamite giveaway I mentioned? For one lucky commenter, I'm offering the choice of any one of Margie's lecture packets! The winner will be announced in our weekend edition.

Do you keep track of your plots and subplots? If so, how? How closely do you pay attention to the character arc?

*Rock climbing photo by Bill Longshaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
** Curve photo by Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Emotion- Its Rawest Form

The smell of the place was a combination of old and new- of old pews, dry paper hymnals and Lysol cleaner. The flowers overflowing at the altar sent off a sickly sweet smell that cloyed in my nose and stifled my senses. I didn’t like it. People slowly flowed into the church, first passing by the large poster board filled with pictures, memories snagged from the passage of time and given credence to a life well lived.

Family congregated in a back corner, not a smiling face among them and at the tender age of seven years old, I wasn’t sure what my response should be. A smile seemed inappropriate, but tears weren’t clogging the back of my throat. It hadn’t hit me yet with the speed of an empty freight train- sure to come later. I tugged on Daddy’s arm, trying to get his attention.

“What hon?”

“Daddy, I want to kiss Papa goodbye.”

His eyes softened and he put a hand on my shoulder, a hint of moisture wetting the corners. He cleared his throat. “You bet you can. We’ll do it after the service.”

The front pew was so close to the casket covered in the pink and white flowers. The smell was overpowering. I hated the scent- unidentifiable it left only a bad taste on my tongue. They were not symbols of beauty, but vestiges bearing the memory of loss.

The service closed, the moment had come. Apprehension churned in my stomach. What would it be like? My hands turned sweaty in Daddy’s grip and my heart thumped in my ears as he guided me through the departing throng and to the casket. I couldn’t see in. The dark oak of the wood gleamed under the lights. I knew Papa wasn’t really in that box. His body yes, but Heaven had gained a wonderful man. Jesus, please tell him how much I love him.

Daddy lifted me up and I got my first peek into the casket. He lay so still. Never again to be the first at the screen door to greet me. Never to kiss my cheek with his gristly gray mustache. Never to feel his loving arms around me. I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead.

So cold. So waxy. It wasn’t how I wanted to remember Papa. The scent of the tight space about me filled my nose with a strange scent, one I couldn’t place and would always hate.

My loss, Heaven’s gain, but now years down the road, I would not trade that kiss, that moment of goodbye for all the world.

Years down the road I found out what that smell was- the flowers about his casket. What I had always thought to be something from the funeral home to prepare his body for burial, was really the scent of the flower chosen to grace his casket. From that day to this I cannot smell those flowers without thinking of Papa’s funeral. And I can’t stand them.

Emotions fill our lives. Grief, joy, anger, the entire gauntlet. When we sit down and give our characters the emotions they crave, where do we draw from for those realistic emotions?

From our own experiences.

I am sure most of you know this already, but it is hard to look back on such moments and drain those feelings and put them onto the page. Our characters will live them and though it isn’t often the same experience, we have to remember all over again. It is often a trialing journey down that emotional memory lane.

Writing that about the funeral of my grandfather is one of the hardest things I have written, though granted it has gotten easier with time. But to relive those emotions all over again is difficult to say the least. I was nearly crying as I wrote this.

You won’t realize the depth of your emotion until you start writing. During a class once I wrote this same thing, only not in as great a detail. I was sobbing from the core of my soul and couldn’t finish reading it aloud. It was embarrassing in a room of complete strangers to not be able to cease sobbing, but the writer in me knows that such a moment is golden.

The same isn’t just for grief, but also anger or extreme joy. Brandilyn Collins says in her book, Getting Into Character that you don’t have to be a murderer to think like one. (and this is certainly an extreme case). She gives the example of as you sit down to read a good book, a fly begins to buzz. You shoo it away. It persists, darting against the glass of your window and distracting you from the thoroughly enthralling world of fiction. Annoyance burns in your gut which grows to upset and from upset to pure revenge as you hunt out the fly swatter and attack the innocent fly. It lies in a pile of broken wings and black body. Satisfied you are return to your book…only to again hear the buzz, bitz, bitz of the cousin of the fly you just assassinated.

Emotions aren’t something to be feared or shied away from. They add the emotional layer to the story that every book needs to give it impact and a way to connect with your readers on a visceral level. You have to relive them to pull from them. Which is why writing is like “sitting down to the computer and slicing open a vein”.

It is frightening to put ourself on the page. We are taking something near and dear and asking someone to judge it. But your reader will have the most impact from it. They will feel as if the book was written directly to them- because though they might not have lived through that same event, emotions are universal and everyone has experienced grief, anger, fear, love, joy. It is the author’s job to advocate on the part of the reader and let them relive those emotions. Your book will have more power for it.

Have you read a book recently that had gut emotional impact?

Creating Character Emotion from Michael Hauge

Good mornin’ all.


Pepper here, and I’m currently going through a great DVD series by famous scriptwriter and speaker, Michael Hauge. It’s called The Hero’s Two Journeys and is filled with fantastic info I want to share with you guys.

First of all, I’d like to ask you a question.

Why do you read fiction?

I mean, really. Bare bones answer.

If you’re really honest, one of the reasons you and I read fiction is to experience adventures we don’t experience in the everyday. To become emotionally involved in a story. To escape into someone else’s journey.

At the heart of it all – emotions.

Usually, the reason we keep reading a book is because, from the first page, our emotions become involved and we MUST finish the story.

Michael Hauge gives 5 ways to help readers identify with the characters, thus building emotion. What does your hero/heroine need to capture a reader’s emotions?

1. Make the character sympathetic – For example, in the movie Sleepless in Seattle, we immediately feel sorry for Tom Hank’s character because we learn from the first that he’s lost his wife. We’re emotionally drawn into the story to see how the character will overcome, or move past this heartbreak. Or in Laura Frantz' newest novel, Courting Morrow Little, about a young girl whose family was wiped out by rebel Indians. The first chapter grabs the reader and has him/her asking questions about 'what would this type of loss cause a girl to be like when she's grown?"

2. Place the character in jeopardy or danger – Your best suspense stories start this way. Peril. All the CSI shows, or Castle (one of my favorites), or Criminal Minds. They all start with peril. The Fugitive with Harrison Ford starts off with a tragedy that immediately puts the hero in danger, AND builds sympathy because his wife dies. Jamie Carie in her novel Love’s First Light starts the first chapter with the main character running for his life during the French Revolution. While he hides, he watches his entire family go to the guillotine.

3. Make the character likeable – Good people cause us to want to read more. Not only does Julie Lessman make Faith O’Connor passionate in A Passion Most Pure, but she is kind and giving. Her inner conflict with her love for Collin versus her love for her sister and her God, makes us want to root for her.

4. Make the character funny – Nobody does character humor like Mary Connealy, and in all of her books, she starts off the stories with humor…and peril. – so you get two for one. Usually the characters are likeable too.  Humor immediately builds emotional connection. We love to laugh, so it makes us want to keep reading.

5. Make the character powerful – (skilled, determined) Is your character good at something? Skilled. Most of John Grisham’s novels have a hero who is brilliant at some occupation or particular skill. Tillie, in Deanne Gist’s novel Maid to Match, is very good at her job as one of the head maids for the Vanderbilts. Harry Potter’s own Hermoine was brilliant, a walking encyclopedia, on The Mentalist , the main character has a way of reading people’s body language to solve crimes. (He gets some of the best lines in that show too).

So, here are a few tips. Which ones are you using in your wip? It’s important to employ 2 or more to get the most emotional bang for readers.

Tell us about it.