So far as possible, they should act out what they are writing, even down to the characters' movements and gestures. If two writers are of equal natural ability, the more convincing will be the one who [also] shares the actual emotions, blustering like a blusterer, ranting like someone furious. Writers need to have sympathetic natures or be slightly mad. The first kind easily understand the emotions [of the characters], the second kind feel those emotions in person.
- Aristotle's Poetics
2 comments:
Peter Cox once said that ultimately everything works to elicit emotions.
The more I write and study, the more this makes sense.
Ask yourself why we should bond the reader to the protag, or why we should aim to create suspension of disbelief, or even why we should keep an eye on adverbs. Follow these and all the other techniques you've ever learned through to conclusion and you'll understand his point.
Make a list of your favourite films and books, and juxtapose this list against your least favourite. You'll see. :o)
Considering your recent posts on emotional linkage, and the latest on your progress and I can see the difference carefully selected direction of the reader's attention can make. I need to read some more, play some more, and write some more before I match that, but bravo, keep teaching me :)
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