Hi,

I've been reading a number of submissions on this site and some of them are very good, they give you a real feel for the character they involve you. Unfortunately there are quite a few that just don't. I won't mention any specific pieces but is it just me or do too many people try too hard?

Often I come across work that just seems so formal, totally lacking emotion. I just can't seem to get into it. I think the main reason stems from the fluidity of the text.

People seem to have this idea of what writing should be and very often it fails so completely. It seems so classical in the Bronte kind of way. To me there is nothing worse than forcing words into sentences as though the writer is trying to show off their vocabulary instead of trying to express themselves honestly.

With my writing I try and make the reader feel the character by becoming the character as much as possible not looking through their eyes and then adding a literary twist.

Am I making sense at all here? Anyway let me know what your thoughts are. How do you try and really get the emotion across? Because that's really what it's all about identifying with the character, their thoughts and feelings etc, really believing in them.

Oh Geoff, now we're all wondering 'is it me, am I too stiff???'

Seriously though, I agree, emotion comes from character and character can come from observation but more often than not comes from within, hence write about what you know and we all know emotion.

Emotion as you know is the core of every movie, every book, poem, play - the trick is to show a character's raw vulnerability at the right time, too early and no-one will care, too late ditto. Hitchcock said 'Film is emotion.' Emotion, not rationality, drives the film, it's the one thing we as a human race have in common and the reason why a film/book/play etc has a universal appeal, reaching different people at different levels all across the planet.

To show it you have to be true, not just to yourself but to the piece, and that's where theme comes in. Know what your theme is and absolutely underpin the narrative with every character that comes into the piece, bear in mind that every character has his or her own story and will come to the theme from a slightly different angle, which is when it gets interesting. Often writers send their characters off on different themes, which is when the audience gets confused and don't emotionally engage. I believe theme informs every creative choice. Like there are only 8 true stories in the world there are only 8 true themes

But the hard part comes when you have to write it!

I am probably being just a tad pedantic but do you need the word "Really" in the title to this forum?

I added it for emotional effect