The Solid Foundation of Bad Emotions

As an amateur writer, which means I do it for fun and not profit. I have written many stories. A lot of people have begged for me to finish one of my stories in a novel. I can work and write a great plot. My plots have twists, turns, a big oops and what at the end. These are stories that entertain you when you’re not reading or viewing it. However, I have noticed a major flaw in my recent writing. This is something that affects the story as a whole and too much focus on the story.

What is the connection from the plot to the reader? The main difference between a fictional history and a story is the characters.  The hook or interest in the story is when conflict arises. Usually a character is down on his luck, you start to feel for the character. You want to see the character overcome the obstacle they have. The character will go to the lowest point when just about everything seems lost, and in a short moment the character will gain control of the situation and win. Usually they get the girl in the end, or guy pending on the case. The character ends up with a little more they then began with. This is called the story arc. It’s a good idea to not stray from this proven formula.

Now the hero or protagonist takes you through the story. Let’s call our hero ‘Steve’. Now when we write about Steve we have to consider what plot to put him in. For random sake lets say the plot is “Evil Scientist makes poison mind control plant to enslave the world.” Now that we have a plot we need to give Steve weaknesses. Let’s say to fit the story it’s pollen, women and possibly a weak immune system. Our hero Steve must now stop said Evil Scientist. When we write this story, we have to have conflict or a price. If a main character dies in an attempt of something, this shows risk. If our hero never takes ‘damage’ or slows down, the story becomes uninteresting. Still, the story seems a little dry doesn’t it?

We need to give Steve a personality! So let’s give Steve a personality make-over! Steve is a stay at home dad. He has two daughters he raises by himself. His wife left him to further her carrier as she didn’t want to be held down by family. Steve paints and referees community sports. His dream is to become a famous painter and provide a future for his two young daughters. Steve is very athletic and an ex Green Beret.

Sound a little more interesting? Maybe not, but we’re just getting started.

The story starts with one of his daughters getting kidnapped. The scientist has actually brainwashed his daughter, but our hero Steve doesn’t know that.  Steve must uncover the truth in a corrupted “sleeping” city while protecting his other daughter. Will he be able to save his daughter? Steve’s only hope is to rely on his military training as the city and system turns against him.

Sounds a lot more interesting doesn’t it? We are introducing emotion into the story. Sounds like something you would find on the shelf of a Hollywood production line. For good reason too, they use this formula. If you want people to believe something, you have to have an expression. A fight between the Protagonist and Antagonist has to have meaning. Mindless action can only go so far. If someone gets cut and the director takes 2 seconds to view the expression “ouch” and a close up of blood drawing the line as it begins to pour. Audience has just taken an interest. Without that zoom in and 2 seconds, you just made a 10 minute fight boring. In music, they call this a bridge. Though a music bridge is different, it can change a repetitive thing into something you enjoy by only a 2 second change of scenery/sound.

Now just being random we’ve come up with an alright story. By adding emotion into story line elements, we have a story. Just add well developed characters, Working plot, and mix well. Add seasoning to taste and bake for 45 minutes. But in all seriousness the emotions are what link the readers or audience to what’s going on. Emotions are powerful and very addicting. Emotions are the only thing that links our bodies and conscious minds directly. If you get someone emotionally involved, your answer will be yes or more please.

As for our story, we still need to add his weaknesses. We’ll have a temptress try to stray him off course. Bad allergies and he’ll be fighting a head cold. All of these elements make him mortal, thus interesting.

Better informed readers/audiences make better readers/audiences. So keep on reading!

-Ken

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