Stories and Stanza is a weekly podcast hosted by Abhra Pal, diving into authors' experiences and inspiration for the things they write. I was grateful for the invitation to talk with Abhra myself about my new book, Raising Women, which is an interactive novel. During our conversation, I got to talk more about my process for writing this book and the things I really enjoyed about it. Abhra summarizes this episode as "unlocking the secrets to captivate an audience with interactive fiction. Learn from this author interview on how to create engaging and immersive stories. Join us on Stories and Stanza for an in-depth discussion with Shannon Waite, the author of the interactive fiction novel 'Raising Women.' Based in Detroit, Michigan, Shannon draws inspiration from the Choose Your Own Adventure series to create a narrative targeting millennial women. The story follows a teenage girl and her friend Roman, exploring themes of reality, identity, and womanhood. We delve into Shannon's creative process, from planning and outlining to crafting multiple plot paths and endings. Featuring insights into the challenges of independent publishing, the importance of understanding one's audience, and a review by fellow author Rebecca Jones Howe, this episode offers a comprehensive look at literary innovation and the resilience required to bring a story to life. Don't miss an intriguing excerpt from the novel and exclusive information on upcoming projects and how to order the book." If you're curious to know more about interactive novels and the behind the scenes of me writing one, then you should definitely check out this episode, 3 Interactive Fiction Secrets to Captivate Your Audience! (or check it out anyway. I enjoy talking about the nerdy things I love).
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In my recent blog post, 5 Ways to Create Visceral Images in Writing, I talk about the five things I use or describe when trying to evoke strong, emotional images. As a teacher though, I think about how it's easy to say, "Using fruit and describing the fruit creates visceral imagery" but then sill have readers thinking, uhh... I also imagine the many ways people can even describe fruit and have it still be boring.
In my first blog about this, I go over some examples in my own writing on how I employ the strategies I talk about. In this post though I'm going to give a few more examples from books written by other people, and then offer you a free worksheet that will help you practice using this type of language in steps so you can produce a visceral image on your own at the end. Examples
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Here, McCarthy focuses on landscape and colors to describe the setting. I absolutely love the use of glaucoma because not only is this an unusual word to use here (which grabs readers' attention), but it really does a great job of of poignantly describing exactly what this world is looking like with no guesses.
The Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
In this quote, McCarthy uses such strong verbs like sawed, paled, an deepened. Again, this scene focuses on describing the natural world. By focusing on the nouns (flames, embers, and ground) and what they are doing by using these strong verbs, it's easy to picture what's happening here.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
I love that Morrison says, "Rinse the chamomile sap from her legs." In this quote, she utilizes both the natural world and the body, and words like rinse, sap, and legs really paint the setting and texture. To top it off, we've got "skin buckled like a washboard" and ahh! What a fantastic image. Again, the verbs and the simile! Utilizing language that is surprising (but still makes sense as a comparison) is a great way to create visceral images.
This quote focuses on the body - appetite, breaking through skin, hunger. Imagine what being looked at feels like here. This description is so palpable and interesting. It does so much more than just saying, "But to be looked at was needed." Right? Using the language of the body really amplifies the scene and the craving for human connection.
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
Throughout the book American Psycho, many horrific murders are described, which provides many opportunities for visceral language, especially about the body. In a scene that is both sexual and violent, Ellis uses the destroying of the body to develop his character and themes. The way he describes the body's destruction is also very visceral. As I talked about in previous blog posts, destroying the body is especially transgressive, and now I'm showing you how it's also visceral! This image of a human's meat in someone's mouth is so animalistic that it immediately creates discomfort.
The Worksheet
So how do you write your own visceral language? Language that provides your readers with the exact scene you want? Language that evokes emotion? Language that stands out as breathtaking?
This worksheet quickly reviews the five techniques I use when writing visceral scenes, and then offers scaffolded steps that will help you write your own visceral scene. First you'll brainstorm helpful words to use, then work on writing short scenes.
Download the worksheet below!
If you're interested in sharing anything you wrote, post it in the comments below.
Works Cited
Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. United States, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010. McCarthy, Cormac. Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West. United States, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2010. McCarthy, Cormac. The Road: Pulitzer Prize Winner. Ireland, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2007. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. Spain, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2006. |
I'm Shannon Waite and I write stories about norms, characters who break norms, and society's wounds. They're always contemporary, often transgressive.
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