“Specificity is the soul of narrative.” ~Judge John Hodgman
I’m using part of this long weekend to get back to writing. Emerson has been waiting for me for a few months while I traveled, moved, and got my life set up again in a new place. So today I dust off those cobwebs and look at her life and trials with new fresh eyes to begin the next and final round of edits.
As I take up the task of these edits, I’m reminded of what it means to literally create the soul of a character. Not a hollow shell with a name who faces challenges in a setting, but a living, breathing soul whom you root for, who conveys her emotions in a way that is visceral. You hurt when she hurts. You cry when she cries. You smile when she smiles. You win when she wins.
The only way to do that is to get specific, to place the reader right into her mind and her heart. That’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s always fun to do the impossible.
Christa Avampato 