Emotional Writing

There are three kinds of feelings when reading a story: boredom, interest, and wow! To become a successful writer, you must create the wow feeling on as many pages as possible, and this requires writing that engages the reader emotionally. In his best-selling book, screenwriter Karl Iglesias explored the working habits of A-list Hollywood scribes. Now, he breaks new ground by focusing on the psychology of the reader.

While writers might disagree over showing versus telling or plotting versus pantsing, none would argue this: If you want to write strong fiction, you must make your readers feel. The reader's experience must be an emotional journey of its own, one as involving as your characters' struggles, discoveries, and triumphs are for you. That's where The Emotional Craft of Fiction comes in. Veteran literary agent and expert fiction instructor Donald Maass shows you how to use story to provoke a visceral and emotional experience in readers.

UPDATED 2022 EDITION! These two bestselling writing and editing handbooks, “The Writer’s Guide to Character Emotion” and “The Writer’s Guide to Character Expression” have been updated and combined to create one remarkable single volume! This comprehensive edition contains descriptive writing tools to help writers craft a riveting novel that instantly grabs a reader’s attention. Writers will gain the essential skills needed to craft realistic emotions, visceral responses, and body language to deepen characterization that you can easily and quickly apply to your own writing. ...

Friendship is the love story you can count on. “Narrator Isabel Adomakoh Young conjures a pair of delightfully distinct voices for the women at the heart of this audiobook.” — Kirkus (Earphones Award Winner) Remy is lucky. Her debut novel, based on her three best friends, became an instant...

Learn Fun and Creative Ways to Enhance Your Descriptions! The advice, tools, and reference lists in this writing guide for fiction authors will inspire writers to create original and vibrant descriptions of characters, locations, weather, and mood that can greatly enhance anyone’s storytelling, whether you’re writing adult fiction, young adult fiction, or children’s books. Fictional and real settings are much more effective, dramatic, and evocative when they’re visible, auditory, olfactory, and tactile. Character depictions are much more imaginative, lifelike, and vivid for readers ...

The ultimate guide for writers who want to “show, not tell” character emotion through body language. If you've ever struggled to describe what your character is feeling—without repeating the same tired phrases like “she smiled” or “he sighed”—this book is your solution. Body Language in Fiction Writing gives you the tools to craft believable, emotionally rich characters using kinesics—the science of body movement and nonverbal communication. Designed specifically for fiction writers, screenwriters, and storytellers, this book combines practical instruction with built-in ...

From Attorney Ryan, the most well-known labor lawyer in America, the complete guide to workers’ rights that your boss doesn’t want you to read Life for working people is getting harder and more expensive. While employers clamp down with return-to-office mandates, productivity trackers, and...

Readers pick up nonfiction books to learn something. They pick up novels to feel something: love, fear, joy, grief, elation, frustration, happiness, desperation, anger, despair, determination...or all of the above. We write novels to give readers a vicarious emotional experience. They want to weep when our characters weep and rejoice when they rejoice.

This lucid, compassionate audiobook has introduced tens of thousands of listeners to expressive writing, a simple yet powerful self-help technique grounded in scientific research. Leading experts James W. Pennebaker and Joshua M. Smyth describe how taking just a few minutes to write about deeply felt personal experiences or problems may help improve our mental and physical health.

In The Language of the Heart: Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings, listeners will find Bill’s initial inspirations for what became the Twelve Traditions, his battles with chronic depression and spiritual pride, memories of an all-night drinking spree, and a vivid description of how he came to organize the Twelve Steps (there were six in the first draft). For anyone in recovery from alcoholism or addiction, this uplifting and poignant collection provides a view into the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous as well as deep insights on emotional sobriety and personal struggle.

Learn to Improve Emotional Descriptions, Create Believable Settings, and Craft Powerful Descriptive Writing. This guidebook is a companion to the first volume in the Fiction Writing Tools series, "The Writer's Guide to Character Emotion" on descriptive writing and Deep POV, with Immersive Writing Techniques. Within this in-depth writing craft book are practical tools on how to apply descriptive writing to create realistic settings, visceral responses, and lifelike characters. Included are lists and advice on: Setting Descriptors Character Personality Traits Character Development Descriptive...

Nat Cassidy’s highly commercial, debut horror novel Mary, blends Midsommar with elements of American Psycho and a pinch of I'll Be Gone in the Dark. Mary is a quiet, middle-aged woman doing her best to blend into the background. Unremarkable. Invisible. Unknown even to herself. But lately...

As seen on Good Morning America's SEPTEMBER 2020 READING LIST and FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2020! "We need to read stories about folks who have been through hell and kept going... Fascinating." —Glennon Doyle, A Favorite Book of 2020 on Good Morning America "Gildiner is nothing short of masterful—as...

"Narrators [Megan] Crais and [Connor] Wicks bring the Byrds to emotional heights, perfectly capturing the adult voices of thirtysomethings Wren and Ellis." — Library Journal An emotional, irresistible second-chance romance filled with sparkling humor, big feelings, and "melt your face off...

A man once chained by greed. A city divided by truth. A hymn that would outlive them all. John Newton was not born a saint. He was a sailor, a slave trader, a man consumed by ambition and sin. Yet in the howling storms of the Atlantic and the shadow of chains clanging in his ship's hold, he encountered a mercy fierce enough to break him — and remake him. Amazing Grace is a sweeping historical novel that transforms Newton's autobiography into a suspenseful, emotionally charged journey of faith, betrayal, and redemption. From the brutal decks of slave ships to the frostbitten streets of ...

Therapeutic Writing & Journaling: A Practical Guide to Healing, Self-Discovery and Emotional Well-Being Unlock the power of words to heal, grow, and transform your life. Therapeutic Writing & Journaling is a practical and inspiring guide designed for anyone who wants to explore the benefits of journaling as a tool for self-discovery, emotional well-being, and inner balance. Inside, you will find: Guided journaling exercises to help you process emotions, release stress, and cultivate clarity. Mindfulness writing practices that encourage presence, self-awareness, and compassion in your daily ...

Unlock the Power Within: Transform Your Life and Reclaim Your Voice with Coercive Relationships: Find the Answers You Seek. You didn't lose yourself all at once. It happened slowly, quietly, until the person you used to be felt like a stranger. This compassionate, clinically grounded guide gives survivors of coercive control the tools to understand what happened, reclaim their identity, and begin real healing. Jennifer C. Parker, a seasoned social worker and therapist, walks you through the patterns of emotional abuse, the trauma symptoms behind your confusion, and the proven path forward. ...

KEEP A DIARY Journaling is a technique that can relieve anxiety, organize your thoughts, and unleash creativity. We will see in this book the many reasons why keeping a diary can be beneficial from the emotional side, intellectual development and the psychological reasons why having a diary improves our existence. We will see who has used a journal and also the many ways there are to keep a journal: morning pages, art journal, goals and ideas journal, among many others. You will discover that keeping a diary is already a very different exercise from the one you may have carried out in your ...

Looking to write a romance novel your readers will devour in one sitting? Look no further than How to Write Compelling Romance Novels, the must-have guide for any writer who wants to create page-turning love stories! With its insider tips and practical advice, this guidebook will take your romance writing to the next level. You'll learn how to create emotional beats, build sexual tension, and craft conflict that will keep your readers hooked until the very end. And with detailed analyses of emotional stakes, subtext, and internal conflict, you'll have all the tools you need to craft a ...

Tired of taking on negative energies that keep you feeling exhausted? Are you highly sensitive to things such as sounds, smells, telepathy and sensations? This 2 in 1 guide will help any empath or HSP get a better understanding of themselves while learning helpful skills to cope in the world around them. As an experienced empath, and self-help coach, Ahlia takes her audience by the hand and teaches them how to believe in themselves and their abilities. Learn to explore your gifts and be open to seek your truth to acknowledge and change bad habits. Inspiring and entertaining this trustworthy...