“If you do not breathe through the writing, if you do not cry out in the writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it.” ~Anais Nin (1903-1997), author

With every book I write, I try to up my game.  I have Susie May Warren and Rachel Hauck to thank for that focus. “Write something brilliant,” says Susie. And then get more brilliant with every story.

When I started writing my novel Somebody Like You, which releases this May, I knew exactly what my focus was going to be: layering in stronger, deeper emotion.

Virtual writer’s gauntlet thrown down – by me.

Challenge accepted – also by me.

About halfway through writing Somebody Like You, I Skyped with Rachel and burst into tears. In between sobs, I told her I was tearing up my contract and returning my advance. No exaggeration. I could not write this book. It was pushing me to the edge of my limits.

Rachel listened. She encouraged. She prayed for me.

And then she pushed me over the edge.

Her verbal push sounded something like this: “There is no backing out of this.” PUSH. “You can write this book.” PUSH. “You will write this book.“ PUSH.

My decision to layer in stronger, deeper emotion into Somebody Like You cost me more than I ever anticipated.  Why? Because if I wanted my imaginary characters to express emotions that my readers connected with, I had to tap into very real emotions inside me.

While the story is a contemporary romance, it also examines themes of twins and family, widowhood and grief, loss, estrangement, brokenness … all wrapped around the Story Question: Can a young widow fall in love with her husband’s reflection?

Another question I had to answer? How honest was I going to be as I wove stronger, deeper emotion into my novel?

• I had to step back into times in my life when being a twin was painful because teachers compared my sister and I all through our school years. I heard “Why can’t you be more like Brenda?” just as much as she heard “Why can’t you be more like Beth?”

• I had to revisit the intense shock and grief I felt when friends were widowed – one, when she was expecting her second child.

• I had to begin to take stumbling steps through the shock of my estrangement from my family. Even as I wrote a novel dealing with fractured relationships, I wrote very real questions in my personal journal: How had this happened? How would this end? Where are you in this, God?

Author Anais Nin had it right when she said we must breathe and cry out and sing in writing.

And we must grieve too. And ache. And laugh. And rejoice. And fall in love … and out of love. Doubt God … and find out way back to him again.

This is what makes our writing and our characters come alive to our readers … because this is what real life is made of.

The Real Life Challenge of Layering in Character Emotion Click to Tweet

Emotion: It Don’t Come Easy  Click to Tweet