Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

Our emotions and physical condition certainly influence our moods and in turn our writing. Strong emotions, such as anger or depression subdue our creativity while feelings of love and happiness enhance it. If we are suffering an illness, our mind is filled with pain, discomfort or tiredness. Our concentration is in short supply or our focus limited. To pour out these feelings in words can dispel some of them.

As writers, we learn to use these emotional insights to the benefit of our craft. It gives us an idea how our characters may react to a certain situation and thus breathes life into our stories. Of course when we are in the midst of these feelings they are possibly too raw to even contemplate using but as with all things time heals. Jot down how it felt to be angry, shocked, sad, joyful or happy.

Did your body feel different?

Was your mind erratic or focused?

When the feeling passed, what changes did you notice?

When you can look back at that emotion and look deeply into it, it is there we find inspiration – it will strengthen our writing – and also (hopefully) help resolve barriers in character development.For example, after feeling angry does your ‘action’ scene have more impact? Did you channel the forceful nature of your feelings into your characters? Or when relaxed and comfortable can you imagine a characters reflection on a certain subject better?

How do you find your emotional state affects your writing?

Have you used a personal emotion to good effect in your writing?

Did an emotion inspire a story?