Writing Roots

While this is one of the four core emotions we have covered before, we wanted to take a deeper dive into it. Happiness is often forgotten in storytelling, especially when the characters are in a world full of war, destruction or constant fighting. Yet happiness is essential in order to show the full range of a character, and for the readers to truly experience the tragedy of losing that happiness.

From the nuances of happiness at different levels to how to set up a moment of joy, we talk about everything you need to know to write this emotions.

First aired March 27, 2023.

Characters have secrets. It’s a given, really, in the realm of storytelling. Some characters, however, have more secrets than others. In this episode, we are talking about the types of characters who play things close to the chest – where no matter what the subject, they’re likely to hold something back for one reason or another.

This often stems from one of two reasons: they’re either just like that naturally (such as introverts and some neurodivergents) or they have a past trauma that has taught them a “lesson” to keep things to themselves.

Listen for more about these two different kinds of characters and how to write their secrets in a way that won’t confuse readers.

First aired March 25, 2023.

Guilt weights heavily on many protagonists in a story. It’s not often an emotion felt by the villain, though it can be the root for a different emotion which they use to fuel their motivation. Overall, guilt is a useful tool to include in your arsenal of characters. Which means you need to understand it and its companion emotions.

In this episode, Ley and Leigh discuss both guilty and apologetic emotions, how they play into different characters, and what circumstances usually surround them.

First aired March 23, 2023.

Whether it’s a lovable but infuriating protagonist or a punchable antagonist, it is quite common to include a character whose defining trait is smugness. In this episode, we take a look at this form of pride and break down the variety of ways to employ it in a story.

First aired March 20, 2023.

Much like courage, the emotion of vengeance is easily a plot device. It’s common enough in stories and has seen a rise in popularity with the morally gray heroes. If you want to use it in your own story, it’s important to understand the emotion itself – how it starts and grows into action.

Listen for a breakdown of vengeance, what it is, what it means, and how you can use it in your own story.

First aired March 16, 2023.

If you ever write a physical conflict, pain will be a key element to the story. Too many authors forget about injuries or gloss over the reality of what a punch or stab would mean for the character. Unless magical healing is involved, any hit will have consequences.

In this episode, we break down what pain means, how it affects the body, and how you can accurately include it in your story.

First aired March 13, 2023.

While similar, terror and horror are two different ways to represent fear in your story. Knowing when to apply each one is the important part. Most characters will feel some kind of fear during their story. It could be the fear of the unknown future, fear of loss, fear of something they just witnessed, and many more. Listen for more about the specific fear experienced with terror and horror and how you can use it in your story.

First aired March 8, 2023.

Courage is one of the niche emotions that nearly every book will contain regardless of genre, age group or tropes. Protagonists especially will have a moment when they need to be courageous despite their circumstances. This emotion, however, is often misunderstood and misapplied to writing.

Fear is not the opposite. Courage is best represented by action despite fear. In this episode, we talk about courage, what it looks like in writing, and how you can use it in any genre to help progress a story and develop your characters.

First aired March 6, 2023.

Throughout March, we will be covering a variety of specific emotions, starting with reverence. This is not solely a religious emotion. A character can experience reverence towards many things, from a hero the idolize to a place of significant trauma.

Listen for more as we break down what reverence is and how you can use it in your story.

First aired March 2, 2023.

The post S41E1 – Writing Emotions: Reverence appeared first on Writing Roots.

In some ways, releasing a book to the world means it’s no longer yours. The world and its characters belong to the audience. However, the responsibilities still belong to you. The post-launch mindset is a delicate balance of accepting and letting go while doggedly pursuing another success.

Listen to this episode for more about what to do after a book launches and the mindset you need to continue growing as an author.

First aired February 27, 2023.

The post S40E8 – The Post-Launch Mindset appeared first on Writing Roots.