At this year’s Worldshift writers’ event, author and coach Trisha Jen Loehr described how readers want the emotional layer in stories.
Without it, a story is just so much stuff happening, with no connection to the reader.
The Character Wound
Trisha begins like I do, with the character wound. It’s that inner wound or misbelief they carry around that holds back their emotional growth.
The wound frames what they need to learn in order to grow and move on. It helps to know the origin, or backstory to the wound, as a revelation some way into the story. We also need to see how it affects the character’s perception of the world.
Most importantly, the wound is the emotional catalyst or barrier to their actions.
Put emotion on the page
Next, Trisha insists the author puts emotion on the page. The more the reader sees and experiences character emotions, the more they connect with the story.
That means the narrative has to include interiority; thoughts and feelings.
It’s not until we get inside the character that we truly see the struggle, feelings and choices of the characters in the story.
In Loehr’s Romance genre, the story feels false without interiority.
Emotional Intimacy
Finally Trisha advocates for emotional intimacy. In the romance plot or sub-plot, this goes beyond physical attraction. What readers really connect with is a bond based on mutual understanding, vulnerability and trust. Bedroom athletics do not build relationships. Loehr says true intimacy comes from small things, kind acts, moments unspoken.
Without emotional layers, any relationship story, not just romance, feels flat and inauthentic.