Tuesday 18 November 2014

Taking emotions to another level


Taken from Google.com
Here’s one thing about me that’s not a secret. I don’t do emotions. At least not very well. In Bad Teacher starring Cameron Diaz (and the delicious Justin Timberlake) there’s a scene where one of her students is crying and she turns around in the opposite direction. Um, that’s me. The good part is that I only think about walking away, but in the end I find out what’s wrong with the student.

In my own life, the only emotions I like dealing with are anger and joy, of which I am an expert. Everything else gets murky. I happened to carry aspects of my personality into my writing when I wrote the first draft of Midwife to Destiny. I had these scenes that were supposed to be emotional, but fell flat. Only because of my own inability to emote.

In comes my fabulous editor, Zee Monodee, who forced me to have my characters express their emotions. It had to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my writing career.  When a friend of mine read it and gave me feedback after it was published, she told me that she cried during one of the scenes. Sick me was happy that I’d upset her.

The moral of the story? In order for people to relate to my characters I have to relate to my own emotions. Not easy, not fun, but so worth it.


Blurb

Ghanaian nurse Aurora ‘Ora’ Aikins never expected to find the love of her life while on vacation in South Africa. Engaged to another and believing that love has no place in her life, she returns to Ghana, and puts duty and honor first.

Three years later, Dr. Jason Lartey still can’t get Ora out of his mind or his heart. After learning she never married, he takes a risk and moves to Ghana hoping to rekindle what they started. His sudden appearance in Ora’s Emergency Department sends sparks flying all over again.

They’re in the same country, working in the same hospital, and together but distance creeps between them. Can they make their destined love one for the ages?  

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8 comments:

  1. As writer's we do tend to add our own emotions into our writing. Good thing Zee helped you, Nana! Midwife to Destiny is an excellent book!!!

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  2. I agree with Cathrina. I found Aurora emotional. I mean she had to deal with all that emotional baggage she was bringing into the relationship before she could accept Jason's love.

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    1. I thank Zee for helping me to pull all that emotion from her. It was not easy.

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  3. Lol, Nana. I have to be careful because my heroine's like to cry very easily. Don't want to make them seem too weak. But yes, Zee got me to make my characters to think and to respond much more!

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  4. I'm very empathetic but I'll admit I'm an expert with anger and joy as well lol
    I'm not sure I'm good or not with emotions in my writing . . . probably not. Now I'll have to pay more attention. And hey upsetting a friend over your scene is a good sign, I'm happy she cried too. LOL.

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    1. LOL. S.K. I have to say that you are good with anger. Your heroine in Kinetic had every right to be.

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