Evoking Emotion

You've all heard it before...
A writer must continually up the stakes in the storyline in order to keep the reader turning the page.

Sometimes, however, that can backfire. One car bombing after another makes for a real yawner. Or a rollover accident followed by the axe murder of a favorite character topped off with a mushroom cloud over New York. Seriously?

So the quandary of a writer is engaging the reader with increasing odds against the hero that don't turn into a series of comic book whams, bams, and zowies. How does one do that exactly?

Evoke emotion. Not every scene needs larger-than-life action. Connecting with the human heart is every bit as engaging and oftentimes the largest hurdle a character can overcome.

Here's a real life example. My dog died. I was the one who held him in my lap while the vet injected the drugs to stop his heart. Yeah, that's a tearjerker. Even worse, and what tore me up the most, was a dream I had later that night. My dog was still alive and I was petting him, but with each pet, he faded more and more until I was petting nothing but air. How freaking sad is that?! If that doesn't connect with a reader's heart, I don't know what will.

The trick here is obviously balance. Space out action and emotional scenes, all of them pulling the hero toward the climax where both should intersect in one big black moment.

But don't overdo it, or as I learned yesterday, you'll leave the reader wanting to slit their own wrists... Sorry Staci!