Before I answer emails about the blog “Mine Yourself,” we woke up this morning with a couple of inches of new snow.
I got a couple of emails that essentially said they had nothing to “mine.” Let’s start with a couple of facts. No one has your feelings. They belong to you, and no one has exactly the same feelings. The second fact is we read because we want to experience someone else’s feelings. Let me give you a couple of examples that illustrate those two facts. I will start with a simple one. Sitting down and eating a fresh pepperoni pizza. It might be too hot and burn your mouth, as in the past. There are gooey mozzarella strings from the first bite. Both of those things are unique to you. What happened when you burned your mouth? Do you like to stretch out the mozzarella strings, or do you tend to wrap them around the slice of the pizza?
That was a simple one but still provided lots of variety. Let’s look at a more complex one. You have wanted to date someone and kiss them. That moment has finally arrived. What did it feel like? Depending on your sex, it will feel very different if you are a man or a woman. How did your body react? What were your thoughts during the kiss? Did you want another kiss? Was it what you expected?
Instead of a whole set of questions, let me offer a male perspective on a first kiss. I am aware of her body’s warmth and her perfume’s smell. Maybe even the taste of her lipstick. Depending on the time of year and our clothing, I might be aware of her breasts against my chest. Those are all physical things that will be different for every male. Turning to the emotional side of the kiss, her kiss might be everything I expected and more. I want more kisses. I realize she’s turning me on, but I want her to understand she is much more than that. I will tell her how good it feels to hold her.
Those are all things a female reader will find interesting and tell her much about the man in the story. A male reader might say, “Wow, I’ve been there.” For both readers, the story has gotten interesting.
Try writing about these two scenarios. Do the pizza first, as it is the easiest to access and doesn’t have much emotional content. Next, do the kiss. Mind your experiences. Do the physical first, then the emotional side of the kiss. I’ll offer a hint here. Make a list of the physical things, and then write that part of your description. Next, make a list of the emotions you felt. Be honest! If you were turned on, explain how it felt. Often new writers are a bit ashamed to write their genuine feelings. If it helps, remember you will be writing this about a fictional character using your history. Your readers will want to know your character’s “true feelings.”
Do you see how much you could write about where you thought there was nothing you had that would interest people? Everyone has eaten pizza and will enjoy a character’s reaction to it. Every reader is a bit snoopy. They want to know the juicy details of a character’s first kiss.
