One of the most elusive problems in early story drafts is also among the most common. Here's how professional editors find it and fix it.
“I understand what the character is feeling, but I didn’t feel it.”
That’s one of the most dreaded, and common, pieces of beta reader feedback a new author can get.
I’ve heard every version of that complaint throughout my editing career, usually in regard to a scene the author meant to deliver an emotional gut punch. The characters confess their love or their sins. They make heroic sacrifices. Maybe they overtly cry and rage.
All the ingredients seem to be there. Yet the scene hits with a thud.
What’s especially frustrating is the author probably found the same scene deeply compelling. Because he understood what was supposed to happen.
But understanding where an emotion should be evoked and actually making readers feel it are two different propositions.
And whether or not you understand that difference can make or break your novel.
Luckily, I’m here to show you how to give your big scenes maximum emotional impact.
📚 First, a word about Kairos Publications’ author services
You’ve put in months, or years, on your novel. You know the mood and tone you want the book to convey, but how can you make those emotions come through the page?
That’s where a professional editor comes in.
Kairos Publications brings more than a decade of editing experience to your project. We help you spot problems beta readers miss and show you exactly how to fix them.
From plot structure and character arcs to sentence-level prose, we help you turn a three-star draft into a five-star novel.
The tearjerker that almost was
Imagine a young monk learns his master has died in a duel with a bitter rival.
The author describes the monk falling to his knees, weeping, and swearing vengeance against the killer.
The author knows the master was the monk’s father figure. He also knows they spent years training together and that the young monk became the man he is today because of his master’s teachings.
So to the author, the young monk’s outpouring of grief seems justified.
But there’s one problem:
The reader met the master two chapters ago. Since then, he’s appeared in one brief scene to deliver some exposition about the martial arts school’s history.
Now he’s dead, and the author expects us to mourn him.
The author has given the reader enough information to understand why the young monk is devastated. What he hasn’t done is give the reader enough reason to care.