The 4 C's of Writing Emotion

I’ve recently been thinking about favorites. What makes a book one of my favorites? Why do I like a particular movie better than all others and what makes a song something I need to hear over and over. As I’ve created lists of favorite movies, books and songs lately I’ve realized that in each case, the book, the movie or song speaks to me and touches my emotions. It tells me a story and makes me feel something. Maybe it reminds me of a pain I’ve felt or makes me laugh at something stupid I’ve done. But ultimately, if I’m going to reread, re-watch or re-listen, I want to feel good at the end. This doesn’t mean everything needs to end perfectly in a utopian world with kittens and unicorns, but after being reminded of the sting of life I want to feel hope that things can be better and that even the most challenging struggles can be overcome. Some people prefer tragedies but I prefer hope.

In lending we determine an individual’s credit worthiness based on the 3 C’s: Capacity (ability to repay), Collateral (security), and Character (the likelihood that someone will repay- i.e. credit history). Today I’d like to refer the 4 C’s of writing with emotion. Perhaps we can evaluate the emotional worthiness of our work to make sure we pack the emotional punch we intend in connecting with our readers.

How do we convey the emotion that we want our reader to experience? Answer: the 4 C’s.

Content- This is the stimulus, or substance of what is meant to elicit the emotion. Maybe it’s the tragic death of family, or a child, or the pain of unrequited love. Maybe it’s the fear caused by physical danger or emotional distress. In Defensive Tactics, Jimmy faces each of these emotional situations as he overcomes the tragic loss of loved ones. He finds himself in physical danger when he is unwittingly drawn into the heat of an FBI investigation. The themes must be broad enough to appeal to a large audience but feel personal enough to help the reader empathize and relate.

Conflict- This is the turmoil and tension created by the emotional situation. This drives the story forward and grips the reader by the throat to let them know, “You’d better keep reading. You can’t stop now.” This prompts us to read on so we can find out what happens to Jimmy.

Context- The emotion must advance the story, not act as a distraction. The emotional situation has to fit into the action of the story and not serve only itself. It needs to mean something in the larger scheme of things. How does the fear of physical harm move the reader? How does the understanding of Jimmy’s tragic past make us care about his future? How do we allow a glimmer of hope to penetrate the gloom of Jimmy’s life?

Character- If we don’t care about the character, we don’t care about the story. If I don’t feel a connection or have an emotional investment in the individual, I won’t care about what happens to him. I won’t tear up when he sits alone in a chapel, staring comatose at an infant casket and I won’t cheer for him when he starts caring for others more than himself. I must be able to invest in the character enough that I will invest my emotion in his story.

These 4 C’s must weave together, binding the reader to the story. Hopefully at the end, the reader will think about the characters and maybe even apply a lesson or two to their own lives. Hopefully, we will leave the reader feeling an emotional connection to the story so that the next time someone asks them if they’ve read any good books lately, they’ll remember ours.

What books have you invested in emotionally?

Female Characters We Love to Love

I find myself constantly evaluating characters in books, on TV and in the movies. What makes them interesting and loveable. Sometimes we love to hate them--Why? Sometimes we cheer for them and become so emotionally involved with these fictional characters that they feel like a friend. Okay, maybe I'm starting to sound a little pathetic, but isn't it true?

I recently wrote a post about the character of Mattie Ross from True Grit so today I thought I would mention a couple of my other recent favorites female characters.

1- Catniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games Trilogy. Big surprise.

In a nutshell--Catniss is young, strong, loyal, mentally tough, resourceful, conflicted emotionally, skilled, dangerous. She faces incredible danger and unfair circumstances but is victorious because of her inner strength. She is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. She can be emotionally cold and morally ambivilant but that just gives her texture and makes her feel more real.

2- Veronica Mars from the TV show. Who? I said, VERONICA MARS. Cool name and a cool girl.

Like Catniss, she is young and headstrong. She is witty and cute. She's an intelligent private investigator (even in high school) who is able to manipulate adults and fellow students to get the answers she needs in bringing justice to the world. She follows her own moral compass which may not always line up with yours or mine but she is consistent and true to herself. She's the kind of friend you want when you get into a jam because she will find a way to solve your problems and make you look like a superstar.

Mattie Ross, Catniss Everdeen and Veronica Mars. Strength, loyalty, intelligence, honesty, resourcefulness are all inspiring characteristics.

Do you have a favorite female character? What makes her interesting?

Character Assassination- Why?

I saw the Coen Brothers adaptation of True Grit this past weekend. I have not read the book and I haven't seen the original movie for which John Wayne won his only Oscar, so I watched this movie with fresh eyes--no expectations, no pre-conceived notions and no grudges about Jeff Bridges repalacing John Wayne. I didn't care about any of that.

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. The story was compelling and the acting was strong, but by far, what I loved most about this movie was the main female character, Mattie Ross.

Mattie is a fourteen year old girl with just one goal--find the man who murdered her father and make him pay. With her quick wit and overpowering intellect, she negotiates with the town locals to earn enough money to hire a Marshall to track her father's killer and bring him to justice. Her tongue is sharp and she is dogged in her determination. Watching Mattie interract with the adults who underestimated her was fun and inspiring. The strength of Mattie's character and the way she wins over the gruff Marshall, Rooster Cogburn, carries the film. I cared about the movie, because I cared about Mattie.

Don't worry, I'm not going to be a spoiler here, but let me just say that there are some wonderful scenes where the action climaxes, leading to an emotional payoff. If the movie would have ended after these scenes I would have been pleased. Unfotunately, in an eplilogue scene that occurs decades later, I am shown the grown up version of Mattie, but this time I don't like her.

In the final few minutes of the film Mattie has become a hard, crotchety old-maid. I expected more for Mattie. I wanted to remember Mattie as the likeable, sharp-witted, bright and resourceful young lady she was on the adventure. I wanted more for her life and if the movie had ended three minutes earlier I could have left the theater feeling good. Instead, everything the movie had accomplished was undone with the epilogue. What a let down. Mattie's likeable character was assassinated and therefore my interest in the movie also died.

I ask myself "What's the point?" Are we supposed to learn that Mattie was changed forever because of her quest to bring her father's killer to justice? Okay. Fine I guess. Should I discover that there are natural consequences, both known and unknown, to all of our actions? Maybe. But don't kill the character I like. Again, I don't care about the lesson I'm supposed to learn if I feel that the person teaching the lesson has just pulled the carpet from beneath my feet.

This movie brought two main thoughts to my mind.

1- Trust is hard to earn but easy to destroy (even for readers and viewers)
2- No one will care about the story, if they don't first care about the character