I’m honored to have Kerri Nelson blogging with me today. If you haven’t read her books, do. She’s a master at pulling every drop of emotion from a scene. Today, she is talking about just that, emotion.
The Promotion of Emotions By: Kerri Nelson
As women, we are often defined by our emotions. Men tend to think of us as “too emotional” or those who wear their “heart on their sleeves.” Or they just blame our moodiness on PMS!
Have you ever been accused of over-reacting to a situation? Have you ever been accused of using tears to get your way? While I, as a strong 21st century woman, believe that using our “feminine wiles” is an old school notion—I don’t deny their effectiveness.
But when it comes to our books, how do we express the emotions of our characters? Sure, we can say that our hero is angry or that our heroine is embarrassed. But how can we express it better and make it a more powerful experience for the reader?
As writers, we are sometimes instructed to “show versus tell” and that can be best explained by showing some examples:
Telling: Charles was angry.
Showing: Charles clenched his fists by his side, a menacing scowl on his face.
Telling: Evelyn was embarrassed.
Showing: A blush crept up her cheeks, heating her face as she planned her hasty retreat.
If you’re a writer, how would you describe the emotion you’re feeling right now? Perhaps your bored, busy, distracted, or depressed (from that recent rejection letter)?
Leave a comment and use your best “telling” skills to describe your current emotion and I’ll choose the best one and give away a FREE month of cover ad promotion at my Book Boost Blog
If you’re a reader, would you say that you enjoy books that make you laugh, books that stir your deepest internal fears, or books that touch you emotionally and provoke a tear or two? Give us an example of a book that has really made you emotional.
I’ll choose one reader winner’s answer and send you a Box of Books (various authors—a surprise grab box)! I have a ton of them and feel like sharing my overstock with you.
Winners selected on Monday, April 4th. Please leave your contact information if you want to win.
In the meantime, my latest book entitled Double Take is a whirlwind of emotions. Take a kidnapping, a first love, a dreaded high school reunion, and mix it with the death of a loved one. Talk about emoting!
Double Take Blurb:
After growing up the laughing stock of the town drunk and humiliated by the hottest guy in school, Kennedy Wolfe planned on never stepping foot in Greece, New York again.
Now a highly decorated agent for the FBI, Kennedy learns of the abduction of her best friend from high school. The news comes just days after the invitation to her class reunion was received and tossed.
Despite her better judgment, she can’t resist the urge to take on a case that would show her classmates once and for all what she’s really made of.
Damon Divine is the unbeatable District Attorney and he’s dead set on finding those responsible for abducting his twin sister. But when the beautiful Agent Wolfe comes to town, he knows the kidnappers won’t be the only ones on her hit list.
After all, standing up a girl on senior prom night is not something she’s likely forgotten.
Now available from Evernight Publishing. Click to read an excerpt or purchase
Kerri’s website is: Kerri Nelson and a must see is her industry blog You can also follow her on Twitter
Kerri Nelson has always been passionate about reading books but when she wrote her first poem in the second grade, she discovered her love of writing. At the age of sixteen, she became a columnist for her local newspaper as the high school correspondent for the weekly “Panther Tales” column. She won the Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year Award for her efforts.
After an education and career in the legal field, Kerri began to pen romantic suspense novels with a legal or law enforcement theme. She is a true southern belle and comes complete with her dashing southern gentleman husband and three adorable children. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her baking homemade goodies for her family.
Kerri is an active member of Romance Writers of America as well as numerous Chapters including Celtic Hearts Romance Writers and Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal Writers. She is a multi-published author currently under contract for her sixteenth novel.
I’m busy.
The phone’s shrill ring ricocheted against the booming voice of my boss demanding tomorrow’s reports a day early. I sift through one of my ten stacks, searching for a repor I’d never get finished in the ten minutes he now projected. Sweat beaded along my brow, my temples throbbed, and the tight fist in my chest promised a panic attack on the horizon.
Loved this post. Thanks Kerri for letting us play!
Kerri,
Recently I watched a movie , “Bent”, where the two main characters couldn’t touch or look at each other, but they could talk. What they did during those few minutes of speaking, even now, raises goosebumps on my arms. The power of their words surges through me, tightens my chest, and brings tears to my eyes. The power of this movie, because it recognizes the power of the words, stays with me. You gave good examples of show vs tell and how much more we can communicate when we put effort into our words.
Rachel~~Great stuff. I can certainly relate to “temples throbbed”–happens daily around this house!
Clancy~~Oh, I’ve not seen this movie. Will definitely check it out. Thanks for the referral. Thanks for the compliment on my examples (showing is something I’m constantly trying to improve on).
Be warned – it is a hard movie to watch and not for everyone as it deals with Nazi Germany and the characters are gay men. If you want more info before diving into it – I wrote about it on my blog in more depth. Http://whatclancythinks.blogspot.com
Thanks for the warning, C. I’m pretty brave though.
Great blog. When I came to the end of the actual writing I was faced with what has begun to overwhelm me – a row of tiny icons telling me to tweet, to like, to E, to B, to stick my thumb up and grab a ride into the morass of confusion that has become our daily lives. In the meantime one of the Salukis is on the wrong side of the gate and wants to be let through NOW and people are asking me questions they could answer themselves if they made some kind of an effort on their own. To think at one time I believed this digital age would make our lives easier. All these wonderful blogs and tremendous book trailers just remind me how far behind I’ve fallen. I’ve done my edits, I have my beautiful cover, I’ve written my blurbs, should I blog some more, should I create a trailer for myself. Or should I just—Keep Writing
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Hi Kerri!
Right now as a writer, I’m overwhelmed: Beads of blood break out on my forehead. They must be blood. After all, today I have slipped into the skin of three characters, thus, “Cheeks burning and fists clenched, he frowned. He couldn’t believe she had the unmittigated gall to do that,” and “A frigid chill iced her spine as her boss’ words smacked her in the head.”
I checked on Amazon to make sure my new ebooks *haven’t* dropped in rank and that they *have* sold, checked more than two hundred e-mails, requested three interviews and formatted one manuscript for upload.
Yet, I’m still not where I think I should be in my work for the day.
Great idea for a blog!
Bobbye aka Daryn Cross
Mona~~I hear ya. The Internet brings with it so many wonders and so many time stealing distractions. Thanks for stopping by!
Bobbye~~Great to see you here, my friend. I know the feeling. May day starts early and ends late. My job as a Mom to multiple little ones is 24/7. I totally understand where you’re coming from here.
As I sit here looking at the monitor, I have a slight pressure on my forehead and cheek bones. A forerunner of a headache that’s be throbbing in a few minutes. Allergy season. Hate it.
One of the books that brought me to tears was one written by Anne McCaffrey, I can’t remember the title, but the Master Harper of Pern dies. I was reduced to tears. I loved that characters. He felt like a favorite uncle to me.
My daughter read one second to the last Harry Potter books and I ended up comforting her. I shared with her my sorrow at reading about the Harper Master.
Janice~~Thanks for stopping by. Allergies–say no more! They are the worst.
Capturing emotions. Oh, I sure hope I’m doing that, although I have my doubts at times.
Right now, I’m waiting for a text or call from my brand new Marine son. My cellphone sits on the arm of my chair, where my eyes slide every second second. I type a line, then delete it, then type again. I open the phone, hoping for that message, even though it hasn’t sounded yet. I check the time. Has it only been two minutes? Come on, message or call. It’s been three months …
Thanks for a great blog post!
Eleyne~~I know what you’re going through. The waiting for those staying at home is much more difficult than the “leaving” for those who are away from home. Hang in there and thanks for sharing!
This is exactly a little something I have to find more information about, thank you for the publish.
Hi Brain~Welcome and thanks for the comment.
Just where is the facebook like button ?
The facebook button up at the top of the page on the right.
Cool insights! I have been looking for something similar to this for a little bit now. Bless you!
I greatly appreciate all the info I’ve read here. I will spread the word about your blog to other people. Cheers.
My blog is about Weight loss recipes.
Did you know that dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish?