Feeling your characters’ emotions: Writing a great Young Adult story.

If there is one thing I could suggest to people who want to be great writers, I would say, “feel your characters’ emotions.”

Everyone can tell a good joke, but there are just some people who are better at it than others. It’s usually the individuals who are able to convey emotion along with their words that can get the punchline out there in a perfect way. Being able to feel your characters’ emotions doesn’t come easy, and like telling a great joke, you’ve got to “feel” it in order to write it and make those who are your audience “feel” it too.

When I was writing the first book in the series, I think I was more intent to get the base story down for the others in the series, that I forgot to connect with my characters. Book two is written entirely different. I wanted to explore and open up for the readers the persona of these people who were running around Green isle, saving that world and Earth. Each chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character, allowing the reader to see into the emotion and thought processes of several key players. In one of the chapters, I found myself so intertwined with this little guy, Ned Neely, that I started crying along with him at a pivot point in the story. I connected with him, and the others in Book Two, “The Mirror Sliver.” Finding this emotion connection has also brought a deeper clarity of where I want the story line to go.

So happy writing all, and don’t forget, your characters are just as alive as you want them to be.