Thinking More

Reading through these textbooks is great. It's pointing out to me exactly what I don't do. I take shortcuts. Take one character for example. He's leaving town. He's leaving everything he's ever known. I know exactly what he's feeling at this time. I know exactly has happened in the last couple of days to make him feel this way. But things are never that simple. If he'd had a certain experience earlier in his life then he may have been able to better cope with recent events and not end up leaving town. It's the absence of that singular strengthening event that's really the root cause of this situation.

I write in the moment. I feel what my characters feel but I don't give enough consideration to the events that enabled them to feel that way. This is what the textbooks are showing me and it only takes a little push, a few mental clues. I'm already thinking more. That's what's so great.