[stylist] Something to ponder

[Herrin, Amber]

Hello Bridgit,

I am not the ultimate authority on this-but I personally do not
believe anyone is.  Keeping that in mind, here is what I believe:

While you may not know what something feels like, you can certainly
try to imagine yourself in the position you are trying to write about.
 Set the sceen inside your head and ponder it.  Really allow yourself
to imagine that this is what you are facing.  Then write down how that
makes you feel.  This is just a basic idea of the feelings that are
possibly linked to this experience, because it was only pretend, after
all.  So the next step would be to research.  Even after you research,
though, since people are...well...human (no getting around that one is
there?) And each of us are unique, how we react (or fail to react) to
various situations cannot be dictated by a 'what if?' or 'supppose
that...'

What I mean is that I believe that you can write about it
realistically enough to pass off a storyline as long as you do
actually do the research needed to present a full picture, because no
one would question as long as it seems sincere.

If, for example, you are writing about the loss of a loved one and you
are writing about the reactions of a teen-aged child, there would be a
little leeway in what is expected because children will be children,
and their reactions to any situation-dire or not-are going to cover a
wide range of possibilities.

On the other hand, if you write that the child was running around the
funeral home pretending nothing was amiss, I suspect that someone
would question the quality of your writing or research.

I think it would be a little easier to talk about the situation if I
knew what you were trying to set the sceen for.

Hope this helps,

Amber

On 12/10/12, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
> For argument's sake, how do you tap into emotions and experiences you
> haven't dealt with or met people who have dealt with them and shared
> their experiences with you? And can your story have true depth without a
> personal connection to emotions, thoughts and feelings? Can research
> alone replicate certain emotions and experiences?
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter, editor, Slate & Style
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can
> satisfy, we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for
> another world."
> C. S. Lewis
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sun, 09 Dec 2012 13:38:14 -0800
> From: vejas <brlsurfer at gmail.com>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Something to ponder
> Message-ID: <50c504c8.9111e00a.0835.4455 at mx.google.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I disagree with this statement because I feel that writing is a
> part of living.  You don't have to do lots of great things in
> your life to be a writer.
> Vejas
>
>
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-- 
Sincerely,

Amber R. Herrin

e: herrinar at muohio.edu
P: (513) 593-5855