Adding Picture and Emotion to writing - Assignment # 13 Winghill Writing School -

Last week, I sent in Assignment #13 to Winghill Writing School

This week I received the marked assignment. I am making progress as a writer. I need to work on painting a verbal picture of the characters, their actions, how they look and speak, as well as the story.

It's more than "Just the facts, Mam." (Sergeant Joe Friday, Dragnet TV Series)

This is a challenge for me. All my life I have had to keep my emotions under control and hidden. I worked with the public; I had to be professional.

Now, in writing, I am to spill my emotions out on paper to add feeling and life to my writings.

It is hard for me to show emotion and to give love and affection. I don't like being touched and I don't like touching. The pains of childhood still haunt me. In a way, I am kind of like Sally.

How my wife,Denise, can remain married to me, I do not know? I would have walked out long ago! In a way, she is kind of like Frank.

In 'The Motel Keys", I did things to my main characters that left me drained afterwards. I never realized that to a writer the characters are real people and when they get hurt the writer gets hurt and when they die the writer mourns.

I created a character called "Beezer". I had to make him loveable and right away plotted something horrible to happen to him, then to bring something inspiring out of that.

"Sally", the female lead character, has really bad things happen to her that close her up to love. She can't allow herself to love. She is hurt. She has responsibilities before her time. She is trapped trying to live.

"Frank", the lead male character, wants to reach Sally but he is rebuffed at every encounter, but he senses something in her. She is reaching out to him in small ways, through the bars of her life. What will it take to reach her and capture her wizzled heart? Can he do it?

I was totally unprepared for the emotions I suffered and their effect on me as I wrote the last few chapters and the end of the story.


"The Motel Keys", by Norm MacDonald. My first fiction story.

Some chapters are posted on this blog.