I don’t normally blog about writing processes. I take the Stephen King approach and try to shut out the world and just immerse myself into the world of my fiction. But every once in a while you need to come to the surface and get a little breathing air or risk the quality of your work going down the toilet.

Fellow writers, you know the syndrome. You get your head filled with plot twists, character arcs and writing cool action scenes that we forget what really makes a story work: Resonance.

Okay, what do I mean by that. Ironically, this key issue actually got brought up when I was working in archaeology. In an emergency session after the fall of Bagdad, I was in a conference with veteran archaeologists from the region. They were discussing what actions could be done in terms of the looting of the ancient history museum and the lasting effects on the destruction of ancient culture. One anthropologist stood up and said: “What about the people?” She was perturbed we cared too much about artifact, the nuts and bolts of our profession, and not enough about the living and breathing people on the ground.

In other words, “Why Should We Care?” That is what your reader is going to be asking as they pick up your book. Maybe not explicitly, but subconsciously. They need a conduit, a link into the story that RESONATES with them. It could be a character they identify with, or a plot line that intrigues them. On the later, we history/fantasy writers have the added burden of making a distant world seem familiar and relevant. But it is amazingly important. Not just to write good fiction, but so that our work has meaning, it has purpose other than just to entertain.

OKAY – so I’ll end my rant with a small piece of how I tackle this demon:

#1 – Go out into the world, preferably to new places that expand your horizons and thinking, and be observant. How can you write a character who is worlds apart from you if you don’t try to walk in their shoes? I recently had to write a POV scene from a sociopath in The Princess Betrayal. Sadly, I’ve known a few of those types in my life. It would be too easy to paint a vicious picture of their behavior from my lofty perch as a sane member of society. But that ignores the depth of their character, and the truly delicious narrative moments when you realize, sociopath or not, they are the heroes of their own tales.

#2 – Documentaries. Weird, I know, but watching and learning about the world, both politically and ecologically, helps me to understand how things tick. I especially like the nature shows like Planet Earth. It’s also important to shock your senses and see the dark stuff. I recently watched “Blackfish” and was haunted by the plight of Orcas in captivity for the next several days. 

You might ask why how Orcas help me to write ancient history. Answer: Compassion. Watching the mournful cries of a mother orca whose child was taken from her was a glimpse into utter soul-wrenching heartbreak. It didn’t matter that the mom was not human. In someways it was more powerful, because animals don’t lie.

Watching those shows reminds me that there are UNIVERSAL emotions, situations, and relationships. When we can identify with the “other” we no longer see them in black and white, in cliches or stereotypes. We get to the heart of character. And once you can do that, my writing friends, you are taking your craft to a whole other level.by