As I approach the final edits for my first novel, I can't help but sit back and think through my journey to get to this point. I've learned quite a bit about writing a book and the steps I needed to take to query, edit, and even publish.
One of my biggest learning experiences, however, had to do with the characters in my book. Writing the different scenes allowed my characters to develop in the way I envisioned, but something felt off. I worked through my drafts and tried to piece things together, and eventually had one of my beta readers ask a crucial question that helped me realize what I was missing. It was only a question of four words, but important nonetheless.
"How do they feel?"
That's what I was missing. The feeling. The emotions. Everyone reacts and feels differently, and when I as the writer push one agenda through the novel everything comes across as odd or unnatural. And to be honest, my story had to be rewritten. I believe, however, my first book became even greater. It took on a whole new meaning for my characters and the theme for the book. Still a science fiction story, it began to take a grip on mental health and bring the issues of my characters to life. Abandonment, self-doubt, confidence; vital points started to churn through my story and come to light.
I realized how important highlighting emotions are. Too often in the past did I read stories containing incredible heroes who seemed invincible and completely capable of doing everything they needed to. Motivations came from getting through the problems at hand, and the solutions seemed to come naturally. To tackle the focus of emotions, I looked to how people behave in real life when coming from certain backgrounds or that have a mental starting point at the beginning of the novel. From there, the characters began to grow in their own way.
It might not be popular to have characters deal with critical emotional issues, stare into the face of their demons, and barely come out of it in the end with their new group of companions. But I feel it has kept a grounded theme throughout the novel and made the characters more human in nature. If it hadn't been for that beta reader, the novel absolutely wouldn't have been as impactful as it is now.
So what's the lesson from this? Well, as a writer, I have a greater appreciation for beta readers. More importantly, the lesson of emotional writing is crucial. Let your characters feel. Tell the reader how they feel. Not everyone will like it, but in the end, someone will. And it may be wonderful for that reader to relate to a character going through similar issues.
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