Showing and Telling Handbook
Show, don't tell is true and useless without the mechanism. Showing works because the reader's brain simulates sensation and generates the emotion from the
Tag: Emotion in Writing
Readers remember how a book made them feel long after they forget the plot. These posts cover evoking genuine emotion, using imagery that resonates, and writing scenes that connect instead of merely informing.
Authority Through AuthorshipThe Family-Law Book Your Clients Read at Midnight
Family-law clients arrive in crisis, not shopping for a service but scared, ashamed, exhausted, making the biggest decision of their lives in the worst week of it. The book does work no website or consultation can. In six vignettes, here…
Authority Through AuthorshipThe Veterinarian Book Nobody Has Written Yet
Veterinarians hold an authority almost no other profession does, because they are the last person in the room when an animal dies and the first on call when one is sick. The right book is not a pet-care manual; it…
Authority Through AuthorshipIf You’re a Veteran and You’ve Been Meaning to Write Your Memoir
If you are a veteran, especially Vietnam- or Korea-era, the window for your memoir is closing faster than you think. Once you are gone, your children get fragments and your grandchildren get less than that. The memoir is what survives,…
Emotion in WritingConflict, Tension, and Theme in Fiction
Strip the dialogue tags and nobody can tell who's talking. Fix flat dialogue with psychology-driven voice, subtext, and the POV choice that shapes your entire novel.
Emotion in WritingInspire or Divide: The Emotional Power Behind Iconic Campaign Speeches
The greatest political speeches run on the same handful of devices, emotional appeal, repetition, collective language, a timed crescendo, because that is how humans actually take in persuasion: feeling first. What most figures miss is that every one of these…
Character DevelopmentHorror Writing: Why Fear Is the Hardest Emotion to Put on a Page
Laughter is hard to earn on the page, tears harder, but fear is the steepest climb of all, because it is physical, and you are trying to trigger a racing heart with nothing but ink in a quiet room. That…
ComedyHumor in Writing: Why I Put Jokes in a Nuclear War Novel and How to Use Humor Without Killing Your Story
Shield of Ashes is about nuclear war, and without humor the bleakness would flatten a reader before the midpoint. A well-timed flash of absurdity lets them breathe and resets the emotional baseline. Here is why I deliberately put jokes in…
Book MarketingStop Falling for Emotional Traps Hidden in Political Tweets
A political tweet looks spontaneous and almost never is, it is engineered to trigger fear and outrage in 280 characters, with context stripped out on purpose. In 2024 both campaigns weaponized the format. Once you see the machinery, it loses…
Emotion in WritingImagery in Writing: How to Make Readers See the Scene
Imagery is what separates reporting that something happened from making a reader feel present for it. It is not ornament, it is the engine that turns flat sentences into scenes you can see, hear, and flinch at. And it runs…
Book Reviews36 Ways to Show Heartfelt Author Appreciation
Discover over 36 ways to show author appreciation, from engaging on social media to creative testimonials. Support the storytellers who enrich our lives.
DialogueEmotional Writing: 8 Inspiring Techniques for Deeper Connections
The difference between a story people finish and one they never forget is feeling, the ability to reach through the page and stir something real. That is emotional writing, and it starts with understanding what truly drives your characters. Here…