Wednesday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THAT SENTIMENTAL FEELING—EMOTION CAN SERVE OR DESTROY A STORY

By: Anthony Ehlers

One of the mistakes we make as writers is confusing sentimental writing with emotional writing.  The former is decorating the proverbial chocolate box; the latter is discovering that someone ate the last chocolate in the box.

We want readers to empathize with our characters and their situation. We want to create that emotional connection between character, narrative and reader. That connection must be so strong and immediate that the readers see themselves in the character’s life as it plays out on the page.

Find a specific character’s truth

Emotion must serve the story and the character. It should never be an attempt to manipulate a response from your reader.

For me, mawkish or flowery writing weakens that bond and diffuses the energy of a scene. It seems to try too hard by overstating the emotions, rather than digging deeper - to the character, their environment and conflict.

Don’t cry for me, dear reader…

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. What Do/Should Writers Read? What Do You Read? | Don Massenzio's Blog http://ow.ly/FdyH4
2. How to Check Social Media Privacy Settings | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/FdIdX
3. 6 ways to create satisfying scene endings - Writers Write http://ow.ly/FdIBf
4. 7 Tension-Building Tips for Writing Action Scenes http://ow.ly/FdKvf
5. Emotional Description: 3 Common Problems with Show & Tell - Angela Ackerman | Romance University http://ow.ly/FdL37
6. What Makes A Plot Boring? How Can An Author Avoid Boring Her Readers? | Creative Writing with the Crimson League http://ow.ly/FdLmb
7. The Book Designer — Practical Advice to Help Self-Publishers Build Better Books http://ow.ly/FdNFk
8. The Future of Ink - Digital Publishing for Online Entrepreneurs http://ow.ly/Feo0b
9. 3 Steps for Making Copy Edits Less Dramatic - Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/Feomc
10. 033: Small Acts, Big Impact: How to Create Wow Experiences [Podcast] http://ow.ly/Feoxs
11. Scene Stealers: Can Heroes and Villains Fall in Love? | Write to Done http://ow.ly/FeoMG
12. How Authors Can Use Amazon's Pre-Order Feature - Marketing Tips For Authors http://ow.ly/FepBu
13. How to Successfully Launch a Podcast - Interview with Jason T. Wiser http://ow.ly/FepWs
14. Want a Powerful Theme for Your Novel? Play Devil's Advocate! - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/FeqnS
15. Anne R. Allen's Blog: Frazzled, Overwhelmed, Swamped? A Writer's Guide to Mental Health http://ow.ly/Fer2z
16. Multiple Projects at Once - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/Ferni
17. Fiction University: Tag! You're It: Talking About Dialog Tags http://ow.ly/FeryI
18. Why Worrying about Genre is Holding You Back - Nick Stephenson http://ow.ly/Fet7g
19. Don’t “Write What You Know”—Write What You Long to Write | Live Write Thrive http://ow.ly/FetIO
20. Book covers: Should we put people on them? | @Belinda_Pollard http://ow.ly/FeubF
21. How To Edit Down Your Manuscript by Janice Hardy | @PenandMuse http://ow.ly/FeUou
22. NaNo Wrap-Up: How to Move Forward | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/FffgZ

Happy running and writing, Kathy