I read this post a while back but totally forgot to leave a message to say thanks for sharing the links to resources at the end! 🙏
This particular topic is something I've been thinking about for a while for my graphic novel, albeit with a different sort of lens/twist based on my career as a UX designer. In UX, recognizing and using emotional states to understand how a user might be interfacing with your website/app/whatever is often key to creating exceptional experiences. It's provided a good foundation of understanding that emotive character writing isn't necessarily going to be 1:1 to how a reader is feeling, but lacks the writing/authoring view of the same concept.
Ooo, UX design is a great conceptual foundation for thinking about audience and emotions, and expectations. You totally win for making that connection with writing early on!
It's really a challenge to find fiction writing angles on how conveying emotion works in a story. I'm about to post my next essay going even deeper into it, so hang on for that! 😊
Great post and thoughts (as always!) on a topic I've often pondered.
On my first read of this, I thought that was Nix's feeling through the *book*, not just the first chapter! Impressive, and useful way to summarise it like this. I haven't ever done that whilst reading a book. The closest I've done to this is summarising what happened in each chapter of Gardens of the Moon before going to read the more professional breakdown+discussion of each chapter at Tor.com. But that was more plot summary rather than character/emotional summary.
Hadn't heard of The Girl From Everywhere, but sounds interesting and so I've thrown it atop the mountainous "to-read" pile!
I'd still love to read those 978 words you did pen, should you so wish to share them.
I have more thoughts on all this but I have to dash. Will write more later.
Thank you Nathan!! I've never tried to write out the emotions either--I have tried doing chapter summaries to see if that would help me understand what is going on in a story, and I found that didn't actually help me at all. I find this view much more useful!
I am now reading the sequel to The Girl From Everywhere, and I'm just as happy with it as I was with the first one. Of course, neither of them were on my huge TBR pile.....that's just lying in wait, having reached a point where it is so big it is daunting to start...so I read other things instead 😅
I do not think I will share this new story just yet--but that is because I think I might know what has me stuck! 😵 If I am right...then I can actually share a version that I am NOT stuck on and you will not have to wonder forever what comes next..... 😊
I hope you dashed off to something fun, and that your week is going well!
Haha, love that you turn to other books instead of tackling the TBR pile ;)
It ended up being a long "dash" away, a few days at a hot springs in eastern Victoria and then a bit of extra time off and now the crashing reality of work and deadlines. Sigh.
I read this post a while back but totally forgot to leave a message to say thanks for sharing the links to resources at the end! 🙏
This particular topic is something I've been thinking about for a while for my graphic novel, albeit with a different sort of lens/twist based on my career as a UX designer. In UX, recognizing and using emotional states to understand how a user might be interfacing with your website/app/whatever is often key to creating exceptional experiences. It's provided a good foundation of understanding that emotive character writing isn't necessarily going to be 1:1 to how a reader is feeling, but lacks the writing/authoring view of the same concept.
You are so welcome!
Ooo, UX design is a great conceptual foundation for thinking about audience and emotions, and expectations. You totally win for making that connection with writing early on!
It's really a challenge to find fiction writing angles on how conveying emotion works in a story. I'm about to post my next essay going even deeper into it, so hang on for that! 😊
Great post and thoughts (as always!) on a topic I've often pondered.
On my first read of this, I thought that was Nix's feeling through the *book*, not just the first chapter! Impressive, and useful way to summarise it like this. I haven't ever done that whilst reading a book. The closest I've done to this is summarising what happened in each chapter of Gardens of the Moon before going to read the more professional breakdown+discussion of each chapter at Tor.com. But that was more plot summary rather than character/emotional summary.
Hadn't heard of The Girl From Everywhere, but sounds interesting and so I've thrown it atop the mountainous "to-read" pile!
I'd still love to read those 978 words you did pen, should you so wish to share them.
I have more thoughts on all this but I have to dash. Will write more later.
Thank you Nathan!! I've never tried to write out the emotions either--I have tried doing chapter summaries to see if that would help me understand what is going on in a story, and I found that didn't actually help me at all. I find this view much more useful!
I am now reading the sequel to The Girl From Everywhere, and I'm just as happy with it as I was with the first one. Of course, neither of them were on my huge TBR pile.....that's just lying in wait, having reached a point where it is so big it is daunting to start...so I read other things instead 😅
I do not think I will share this new story just yet--but that is because I think I might know what has me stuck! 😵 If I am right...then I can actually share a version that I am NOT stuck on and you will not have to wonder forever what comes next..... 😊
I hope you dashed off to something fun, and that your week is going well!
Haha, love that you turn to other books instead of tackling the TBR pile ;)
It ended up being a long "dash" away, a few days at a hot springs in eastern Victoria and then a bit of extra time off and now the crashing reality of work and deadlines. Sigh.
That sounds like a lovely time away though! Good luck getting back into the swing of work. 😊