Writing with Heart

My children and I have been reading Barbara Park's, Junie B. Jones series, together before bedtime. Although I occasionally have to put a disclaimer out, "it's not okay to say you hate people," when reading, I find Junie B. to be a fascinating, entertaining character. One of the reasons I believe this to be true is because she is so stunningly real. She's passionate, says whatever comes to mind, and transverses through life with a single mindedness that only a young person (or a complete narcissist) could possess.

I once told a friend my writing wasn't complete unless I could make people cry. By people, I'm selfishly referring to myself, as I routinely mist up when my characters hurt. Consequently, that's what I look for in quality writing...characters who are real enough to bring out emotions because we feel empathy when they hurt.

Real life is messy. Marriages fall apart, engagements break up, spouses get deployed, children are up all night with ear infections, families spend months or years watching loved ones suffer from illnesses, once close relationships unravel and sever completely. The ability of an effective writer is to channel those emotions from real life into a believable manuscript.

I suppose this is why I'm drawn to both reading and writing literary and women's fiction. I like stories that have the ability to merge a strong plot with characters who tug at your heart, therefore making them impossible to forget. A perfect example of this is Miriam from Khaled Hosseini's A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS.

Of course we all need a love story, too. I think there's a part of us who needs to believe that it's possible to meet our one true love on a weekend in Paris. We all need tension, love triangles, stolen kisses, and the intensity of young love to balance out the drama of our own lives.

Luckily, I get to do both as a reader and a writer. I'm fortunate to write with my own heart while reading the words coming from someone else's. 

But at the end of the day- while trying to balance life with writing, and query letters with hopes of publication- you can always read about a funny kindergartner named Junie B. Jones. As she said in SOME SNEAKY PEEKY SPYING, "A 'pology is the words I'm sorry. Except for you don't actually have to mean it. 'Cause nobody can even tell the difference."

Maybe that isn't completely true, but some days it's worth a shot.