Hello, Teachers!

Welcome to Week 3 of Teachers Write! I hope you're all still having a great time. You've all been incredibly inspiring to me, that's for sure.

To start off the week, I'm going to challenge you to practice marrying senses with emotion. Often how we experience a particularly strong sensation (eating a chocolate ice-cream cone, being stuck outside in the rain, sitting at a baseball game in the hot, baking sun), depends on our mood/emotional state. In writing, showing your character experience something that you would expect to elicit a certain emotion but behaves or experiences it surprisingly different, can reveal a lot about him/her without you having to tell the reader. And, I would argue, it does so far more powerfully. Think of it as another lesson in showing, not telling.

Below is a list of experiences that typically elicit strong senses, and then a list of emotions. Chose one from each category and write a scene with your character to show him or her feeling the emotion while experiencing the sensation. Make it challenging by choosing two items that you would NOT expect to go together.

List One:
Eating a dripping strawberry ice-cream cone
Sitting in a hot tub
Sunbathing
Taking a final exam/test
Eating corn on the cobb
Riding in a convertible with the top down
Waiting at a bus stop in a downpour
Eating cotton candy
Watching a scary movie
Sitting at an elementary school concert
Watching a parade
Eating spaghetti
Singing/performing a solo
Riding a roller-coaster
Swinging
Dancing
Shopping in a candle store
Eating an egg roll
Lying in the grass
Changing the cat box
Washing the dog

List Two:
Excited
Sad
Anxious
Scared
Happy
Jealous
Hurt
Disappointed
In love
Resentful
Obsessed about something
Mournful
Hostile
Nervous
Giddy
Holding a secret

If there is another emotion that better fits the current state of your character, pick that, and then chose from List 1 to work on conveying that emotion effectively through scene. Have fun! And as always I hope you'll share.

Love,

Jo