The question I’m always asking is: Do we need more, less, deeper, or different information at this moment in the manuscript?

In my humble opinion, emotional resonance is one of the key drivers of a book’s success in terms of how memorable it is, what the reader takes away, and how much time someone is willing to give over to reading.

Readers of queer romance, crime, historical, memoir, and other stories might be reading for a number of reasons. It could be purely entertainment and escape; it could be to learn about a culture, identity, or time period they are interested in. Regardless of the reason for picking up your book, I believe they want to feel something. Deep down in their bones.

We want to be drawn in, we want to think about the story when we’re in the other room, and we want to be kept awake by questions and the awesomeness of the writing.

Three ways to ensure emotional reactions, deeper feelings, and lingering thoughts:

1. Stakes. Put more pressure on your characters and make sure that them not achieving their goal (scene, chapter, or whole novel) comes at a cost. Raising the stakes is a surefire way—because when something really and truly matters to the characters, then the readers can get behind them and root for them (or wish they fail!)—but the reader is invested, and that’s what we want. For example, in queer crime, it’s often the case (see what I did there!) that the protagonist has a personal connection to the crime and/or perpetrator: such as a kidnapped family member, their job being on the line if they fail, or relationships put at risk to get the job done. Seeing the character make choices, sacrifices, and decisions when so much could go wrong if they make a poor decision keeps readers glued to the page.
2. Backstory balance. Infodumping an entire potted history of each character—including height, weight, hair colour, eye colour, job, and favourite food—is NOT the way to approach backstory. Knowing when, what, and how much character information is a key skill for fiction writers, and details should be intentional and serve the purpose of informing the reader of necessary info (only) in that moment. Holding back information sits alongside this, because hinting at a traumatic past for a character in a gay romance novel can provide a sense of suspense that means the reader can’t look away. Mapping these character details (goals, motivations, conflicts, wounds, flaws, and thinking about their arc) is all useful to do before you start—or in reverse once you have a draft completed. Being alongside the character as they struggle to accept, overcome, or share personal and painful details from their past is a great way to build reader empathy with characters.
3. Too fast, too slow. Pacing is a key area where emotions can be balanced, or sometimes the author skips important scenes or relies on “telling” details when what we want is each second to be shown. This is one of my jobs as a fiction editor offering services for authors, because high-impact, turning-point, or emotional scenes are usually best drawn out and explored on the page. We want to feel it as the characters face off and, for the first time, share something they have kept inside for years—that might come about in a memoir, or in a queer historical story during the moment when a prince makes a difficult decision, because he’ll be protecting his people but betraying his father, the king. As I read for a manuscript evaluation or a developmental edit, I’m always making notes on the pace and level of tension in a scene, and if there are moments that need to be expanded for the highest emotional payoff, I’m highly likely to suggest this to an author.

I’m yet to meet an author who doesn’t want their story to leave an impact, who doesn’t want the readers to feel as deeply as the characters are feeling, or who thinks emotional resonance isn’t important. But never fear—your queer peer gay romance, crime, historical fiction, and memoir editor is here!

Let me know during our free discovery call or Fiction Focus Hour what emotions, message, and impact you want for your ideal story, and I’ll work with you to achieve it. Author coaching, developmental editing, and manuscript evaluations are all great big-picture services to deal with these issues during early drafting.

Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay