The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface

I've been internationally published in non-fiction, also been writing fiction for years; was always told: fiction is different, fiction is different . . . never knew why until I read this book. Very well written, very human, empathetic, and valuable -- an enjoyable read.

Over the years, I’ve read many books on different aspects of fiction writing. Some are helpful, some indispensable; some are ‘nice to have’, and some are inspirational.After reading ‘The Emotional Craft of Fiction’, I struggled to place it in only one of those categories. That makes it, to me at least, something very special.Subtitled ‘How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface’, this is not (at first glance) a book for newbie writers. Technique, as any musician will tell you, needs to be in place before we can focus on expression, on interpretation. That said, the subject of this book is so fundamental (not at all basic but truly fundamental) to story-telling that any writer who cares about their readers’ experience will benefit from reading it.The author establishes the need to elicit emotion from readers, to give them an immersive experience. Examples from different novels are used to make his point. (I often found myself wishing for better examples, to be honest, but anyway.)The main thrust of the book is really a plea for the writer to become more self-aware, for it is through self-awareness and openness that we can craft compelling and relatable characters that readers will care deeply about.An alternative subtitle could be ‘The Need to Infuse Heart/Hope into Our Stories’. I happen to agree with the author on this point, but considering the trend towards ‘dark’ in fiction, I wonder if this message will resonate with many.I hope it does, because trends come and go, but stories with heart are timeless. They are the ones that endure. Writing is a craft, no question about it. But it is also an art form. We need the skills (technique) to write well. But to elicit emotion in order to give our readers a satisfying, perhaps even memorable, experience? That requires more than skills. It requires intention.There are those who will argue that some genres/subgenres do not need heart or hope. I happen to disagree (I have read some beautiful and moving horror stories). I look forward to a time when every writer understands that ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. For our readers’ sake and our own, I hope to find that the story beneath the surface is one of heart, of hope, of good intention. Those are the stories that I want to read and tell everyone else to read. Those are the stories I want to write.

I can't say anything else but that this book was amazing: for my writing as well as for learning more about myself. It made me think a lot about each tool it gave, sometimes rereading every word a couple of times to fully understand what it wanted to say.Because of this, I made a last change to my manuscript (don't worry, I write in a different language than English... :) ), to be happier with the inner plot.I would fully recommend this book if you are struggling with the feelings of your characters and how to show them to the world.

This is not a quick read and I find I have to break it down into small chunks but the exercises are well worth the effort.

Donal Maass takes an intellectual look at how different aspects of writing (craft, plot, emotions, ARC, etc) can create an emotional response in readers. Each chapter comes with exercises to help his ideas sink in. But I will have to read it again, probably three times, before I can get real value from his ideas; nevertheless, I'm already thinking in new ways at how to create emotions with my words.