Monday, December 19, 2011

Motivational Monday


IF I CAN BREAK MY OWN HEART, 
IF I CAN MAKE MYSELF CRY,
THEN I HAVE A SHOT AT BREAKING SOMEONE ELSE'S HEART...
WHICH IS ULTIMATELY WHAT I'M AFTER.
(Hannah Pittard)

I don't know if this is just me but...I cry when I have to hurt my characters. Or when I have to kill them. 

It happened again with this most recent NaNo novel. There I am, sitting at my desk - tears streaming, nose running, fingers flying over the keyboard - as bad things happen to good characters. Maybe I just care too much. Maybe I'm just too sensitive. Maybe I'm just weird. 

But, if I don't care, if I don't laugh and cry and cheer and worry over my people then how can I expect readers to? So, if one of my characters or one of my stories makes you smile or tear up, there's a very good chance I did the same.

And isn't it amazing how emotions can be passed on from me to you, from you to someone else, all through words on a page, paint on a canvas, the curve of a body in dance? The power, the outreach, of art is never-ending.

4 comments:

  1. You're right: the caring starts with us, and somehow we've got to magically transfer that to our readers.

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  2. That's how I think it works. If we're lucky. :)

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  3. How true. The power of words is amazing--and at times magical. One reason I have trouble reading in public is because I get close to my characters and feel the emotions they do.
    Donna

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  4. Donna, I never thought of it that way before! I tend to struggle when I have to read out loud, too, especially if it's a scene where something bad/sad, etc is about to happen to one of my characters.

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