Intensity

I'm back to work on Ripples. This afternoon I finished reading through the printed manuscript, which I haven't looked at for the last month. Now I'm ready to start revising. Which I have.

But I needed to take a break. I had written an intense emotional scene and I needed a breather before I could go on. That's when I know I'm hitting my stride.

I may have said this before. Writing is one profession where we're happy if people cry. And the reaction starts with me. If the passage doesn't move me to tears or laughter or make my muscles tense then I'm not doing my job.

I cried the most when writing the 9/11 scene in Innocent People. The feelings of that day surged unexpectedly. I knew I had done what I was supposed to do.

I talked yesterday again about first drafts. Usually my first draft--most of it anyway--is dry, nearly void of intensity or emotion. When I revise I write like a reader, looking for the best way to make an impact.

I'm sure you've heard it before. It's not what you say. It's how you say it.